CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
({Monographs) 


iCiUlH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographles) 


Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microroproductions  /  institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  hittoriquas 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  altar  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  chocked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilma  le  meilleur  exemplairs 
qu'il  lui  a  ete  possible  de  se  procurer    Las  details 
da  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  paut-^tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  sxiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m^thoda  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


0    Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertura  de  couleur 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  da  couleur 


j      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couvertura  endommagie 


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Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagees 


E 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  at/ou  pelliculAe 


□ 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurees  st/ou  pelliculAes 


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Le  tit 


itre  de  couverture  manque 


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Pages  d^colorees.  tachetAes  ou  piqcc 


D 
D 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gAographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  da  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


D 


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Pages  d^tachees 


r~7]    Showthrough/ 


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□    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
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D 


Quality  of  print  varies/ 
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Ralii  avoc  d'autres  documents 


0 


□ 


Tight  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

Lareliure  serree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distorsion  le  long  da  la  marge  intArieur* 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutAes 
lors  dune  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  taxte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  M  film*es. 


D 


D 


Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplamentaire 


PT]    Only  edition  available/ 


Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  whol'y  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissurs.  etc  .  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  fevillet  d'errata.  une  pelure. 
etc  .  cnt  tie  filrr^es  i  nouveau  de  facon  a 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible 


0 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplsmentaires: 


Pagination  is  as  follows:  p.  i-ii,  5-271, 

La  pagination  est  conune   suit:    p.    i-ii,    5-271. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

XX 

V 

i 

1 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th»  copy  filmad  h«r«  has  b««n  raproduead  thanks 
to  tha  ganarmlty  of: 

Thi  Unittd  Church  of  Caaada  Archnni 


Victorii  Unmnity  Arehnn 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poasibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spaelficationt. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  iliustratad  impras- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  iliustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  iliustratad  imprassion. 


L'axamplaira  film*  f ut  raprodult  griea  k  la 
gAnirositA  da: 

Thi  Unitad  Ghureh  of  Cimit  Archiwi 
Victoria  Unnanity  Archivn 

Las  imagas  suhrantas  ont  MA  raproduitas  avae  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattati  da  I'axampialfa  filmA^-at  an 
eonformit*  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
fiimaga. 

Laa  axamplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
papiar  ast  imprimta  sont  filmis  an  commanpant 
par  ia  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprsinta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  saeond 
plat,  aalon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplairaa 
originaux  sont  fiimte  an  commanpant  par  la 
pramlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  ampra^nta 
dimprassion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  damiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 


Tha  last  raeordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  -^  (maaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (maaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appiias. 

IV/laps.  platas,  charts,  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraiy  included  in  ona  axposure  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  corner,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bonom.  as  many  .frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
demlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  seion  le 
cas:  la  symboia  — ^  signifia  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
symbols  V  signifm  "FIN". 

Les  cartas,  planches,  tabieeux.  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  des  teux  de  rAduetion  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raprodult  en  un  aaul  ciichA.  il  est  filmA  A  pertir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  geuche.  de  geuche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  an  prenent  le  nombre 
d'imeges  nAcesseire.  Les  disgrammas  suivants 
!llu8trant  la  mAthoda. 


12  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

1.0 


I.I 


fUm 

■  30 

Ui 

Ui, 


1 2.8 
13.2 


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1 2.2 
1.8 


MICRC  ^OPY  RESOLUTION  TEST  CHART 

NATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  STANDARDS 

STANDARD  REFERENCE  MATERIAL  1010a 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


REVIVAL 
ADDRESSES 


LEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

WW  York.  16-  Finn  Avenu*  Chlo.9.,  125  N<k  W«ta.h  Avenue 

ro.  t.   28  lll«l>mond  Str-I.  W.  l^„^,„  „^  Edlnburah 


^1 


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..  / 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


By  R.  A.  TORREY,  D.D. 

LATEST  ISSUES 

Tkt  Ptrson  and  Work  of  tht  Holy  Spirit. 
As  Revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and  in  Per- 
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REVIVAL 
ADDRESSES 


BY 
R.    A.    TORREY 

AUTHOR  OP 

"What  tfce  Bible  Teachei,"  "How  to  Work  for  Chrirt,* 
"How  to  Pray,"  etc.  etc. 


CHICAGO    NEW  YORK   TORONTO 
FLEMING    H.    REVELL    COMPANY 
LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH 


■u— jMump' 


t^^ 


Copyright,  1908 
by  Flaminff  H.  BeveU  Company 


TUK.INTO.       23    HICILMOND    STR8BT.    W 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I. 

II. 
III. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 
VII. 

VIII. 


IX. 
X. 

XI. 
XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 


Introduction 
God    


PACK. 

i 


T7 


"God  is  Love" 

"Found  Wanting"    ' 

The  Judgment  Day  -t^ 

Every  Man's  Need  of  a  Refuge 63 

The  Drama  of  Life  in  Thr'-l  \cts 76 

A  Question  that  should  S-^   •  .i-E  every  Man 

WHO  IS  NOT  A  Christian 89 

A  Solemn  Question  for  those  who  are  re- 
jecting Christ  that  they  may  Obtain  the 

World    ^°* 

Refuges  of  Lies   ^^2 

The  Way  of  Salvation   made  as   Plain  as 

Day   »30 

What  it  Costs  not  to  be  a  Christian 145 

The    most    important   Question    tf.»t    any 

Man  ever  Asked  or  Answered  161 

One  of  the  Saddest  Utterances  that  ever 

Fell  from  the  Lips  of  the  Son  of  God —  183 
"What  are  You  Waiting  for?" 196 


Excuses 


218 


Heroes  and  Cowards 236 

Thbxb  Fxres   ^53 


^' 


INTRODUCTION 


Requests  have  come  from  many  quarters  for  the  pub- 
lication of  some  of  the  sermons  which  God  has  been 
pleased  to  so  greatly  use  in  Japan,  China,  Australia, 
Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  India,  England,  and  Scotland. 
This  volume  is  published  in  response  to  this  request. 
The  author  hopes  that  the  sermons  may  be  used  aa 
greatly  in  their  printed  form  as  they  have  been  when 
spoken.     The  sermons  when  delivered,  as  here  pub- 
lished, were  taken  down  in  shorthand,  but  have  been 
carefully  revised  by  the  author.    Each  one  of  them  has 
many  sacred  memories  connected  with  it.     When  one 
of  these  sermons  was  delivered  through  an  interpreter 
in  a  Japanese  city,  eighty-seven  Japanese  came  forward 
and  declared  publicly  their  acceptance  of  Christ.    After 
the  delivery  of  another  in  Shanghai,  a  large  number  of 
Chinese  men  and  women  walked  out  from  their  places 
among  their  heathen  companions  and    publicly    pro- 
fessed their  acceptance  of  Christ.     On  some  occasions 
in  Australia,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand,  hundreds  of 
men  and  women  came  forward  and  with  their  own  lips 
publicly  confessed  their  acceptance  of  Christ  as  their 


tt 


INTRODUCTION 


Saviour  and  their  Lord.  Reports  of  some  of  these  ser- 
mons have  Veen  given  in  religious  and  secular  papers, 
but  these  rjports  have  been  necessarily  fragmentary  and 
inaccurate,  as  they  have  never  been  revised  by  the 
author.  I  have  abundant  proof  that  even  these  un.-,itis- 
factory  reports  have  done  good,  but  it  seems  desirable 
that  a  full  and  accurate  report  of  what  I  have  said  be 
given  to  the  public. 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 
I 

GOD 

"The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God."— PBalm 
xiv.  1. 

I  have  taken,  or  rather  God  has  given  me,  for  my 
text  to-night  a  very  short  one.  I  do  not  think  you  ever 
heard  a  sermon  from  a  shorter  text.  I  will  not  tell  you 
where  to  find  the  text.  It  occurs  several  hundred  times 
in  the  Bible.  Indeed,  open  your  Bible  at  random  almost 
anywhere  and  you  will  find  my  text  somewhere  on  the 
page.  It  consists  of  but  one  word;  but  it  would  take 
all  eternity  to  exhaust  its  moaning,  and  then  it  will 
not  be  exhausted.  It  is  "God"— a  word  the  height  and 
depth  and  length  and  breadth  of  whose  meaning  no  phil- 
osopher has  ever  fully  apprehended. 

I.    God  Is 

The  first  thing  the  Bible  teaches  us  about  God  is  that 
Ood  u.  "God  is"— two  short  words.  Tremendous 
significance !  "God  is."  If  that  simple  truth  gets  hold 
of  your  mind  and  heart  it  will  move  and  mould  your 
entire  life.  It  will  determine  your  science,  it  will  de- 
termine your  philosophy,  it  will  determine  your  daily 


6 


BEVIVAL  'ADDRESSES 


life,  it  will  detennine  your  eternity.  "God  is."  The 
psalmist  teUs  us  in  Psalm  xiv._«The  fool  hath  said 
m  his  heart,  There  is  no  God."  Please  note  where  he 
says  it— "in  his  heart."  That  is,  he  says  there  is  no  God 
simply  because  he  does  not  wish  to  believe  that  there 
is  a  God.  N"ow,  there  is  a  God,  and  a  man  that  denies 
a  fact  simply  because  he  does  not  wish  to  believe  it  is  a 
fool. 

There  is  abundant  proof  of  the  existence  of  God,  so 
abundant  that  no  man  can  sit  down  and  consider  'the 
proof  thoroughly  and  candidly  without  acknowledging 
the  existence  of  God.    Nature  proves  the  existence  of 
God.    All  through  Nature  there  are  marks  of  creative 
intelligence.     Everywhere  in  Nature  you  find  order, 
symmetry,  law.    You  can  study  Nature  in  the  minute, 
or  you  can  study  Nature  in  the  vast,  it  makes  no  differ- 
ence; evcrj-where  you  find  the  marks  of  intelligence  and 
creative  design.  You  may  take  your  microsccpe  and  turn 
it  down  upon  the  minutest  forms  of  life;  everywhere 
there  is  adaptation  to  end,  to  purpose,  to  design.  The 
man  of  science  will  tell  you  that  in  the  minutest  struc- 
ture discernible  by  the  most  powerful  microscope  he 
finds  perfect  beauty,  and  most  perfect  adaptation  of 
means  to  end.     Or  take  your  telescope  and  turn  it 
towards  the  vaster  Nature.    Everywhere  you  sec  order 
symmetr}',  law,  intelligence,  design,  all  proving  an  in- 
telligent Creator  of  the  material  universe  in  wliirh  wo 
live.     Suppose  I  show  you  my  watch,  and  ask,  "Do  you 
bi'licve  it  had  a  maker?"  you  would  say,  "Certainly." 
"JJut  why?  Did  you  see  it  made?"  "No."  "Did  you  ever 


I 


GOD  T 

Bce  a  watch  made?"  '*No."  "Why,  then,  do  yon  believe  it 
had  a  maker?"    "Because  everything  about  it  indicates 
an  intelligent  maker— hands,  figures  upon  the  face, 
case,  winding  apparatus,  everything  about  the  watch 
proclaims  that  it  had  an  intelligent  maker.  Suppose  I 
replied,  "You  are  mistaken;  the  watch  had  no  intelligent 
maker;  the  watch  came  to  be  by  accident;  by  a  fortui- 
tous concurrence  of  atoms  dancing  around  through 
endless  ages,  until  at  last,  in  the  age  in  which  you  find 
it,  they  danced  into  the  present  form;  thus  the  watch 
came  to  be."    Your  remark  would  be,  "That  man  may 
think  he  is  highly  educated,  but  he  talks  like  a  fool;" 
and  you  would  be  right.    Yet  there  are  no  such  marks 
of  intelligent  design  in  that  watch  as  in  this  material 
universe.    One  very  small  part  of  Nature,  your  own 
eye,  is  a  far  more  wonderful  structure  than  any  watch. 
But  if  some  man  should  stand  up  and  say  that  this  won- 
derful universe  in  which  we  live  came  into  being  by  a 
fortuitous  concurrence  of  atoms  which  danced  around 
through  the  endless  ages  until  they  danced  into  their 
present  form,  many  would  call  him  a  philosopher.    In 
the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  he  would  be  called  a  foolos- 

opher. 

But,  some  one  may  say,  "The  doctrine  of  evolution 
does  away  with  the  whole  force  of  the  argument  from 
design."  Not  at  all.  I  formerly  believed  that  the  doc- 
trine of  evolution  was  true,  but  gave  up  the  belief,  not 
from  theological  but  from  scientific  reasons,  because  it 
was  absolutely  unproven ;  there  is  not  a  single  proof  of 
the  hypothesis  of  evolution.  People  talk  about  the 
missing  link;  they  are  all  missing j  there  is  not  a  single 


8 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


hnk.    There  is  not  a  single  place  where  one  species 
passes  over  into  another  species.     There  is  not  one 
single  observed  instance  of  the  evolution  of  a  higher 
species  from  a  lower.    Development  of  varieties  there 
has  been,  but  of  evolution  of  a  higher  species  from  a 
ower  not  one  single  case.    The  hypothesis  of  the  evo- 
lution  of  species,  and  especially  of  the  highest  forms 
of  life  from  the  lowest,  is  a  guess  pure  and  simple, 
without  one  scieutifieaUy  observed  fact  to  build  upon 
But  suppose  the  doctrine  of  evolution  were  true,  it 
would  not  for  a  moment  militate  against  the  argument 
from  design.    If  there  were  originally  some  unorganised 
protoplasm  that  developed  into  all  the  forms  of  life 
and  beauty  as  we  see  them  to-day,  it  would  be  a  stUl 
more  remarkable  illustration,  in  one  way,  of  the  wis- 
dom and  power  ox  the  Creator,  for  the  question  would 
arise.  Who  put  into  the  primordial  protoplasm  the 
power  of  developing  into  the  universe  as  we  see  it  to- 
day?   It  would  take  a  more  wonderful  man  to  make 
a  watch-hand  which  would  develop  into  a  watch  than  it 
would  to  make  a  watch  outright.    And,  in  one  wav 
It  would  be  a  more  marvellous  illustration  of  the  creat 
ive  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  if  God  had  created  some 
primordial  protoplasm  that  developed  into  the  world 
we  now  see  than  if  God  had  made  the  world  at  once 
as  we  now  see  it.    Nature  proves  that  there  is  a  God 

History  proves  that  there  is  a  God.  Yon  take  one 
little  patch  of  history,  the  history  of  a  single  nation  or 
of  a  few  nations,  for  a  few  years,  and  it  sometimes 
seems  like  a  jangle  without  meaning,  only  portraying 
the  conflicting  ambitions  and  greeds  of  men.    Might 


GOD 


right,  and  the  weakest  going  to  the  wall  But  take  his- 
tory in  a  large  way,  the  history  of  centuries,  take  all 
history,  and  you  will  see  that  back  of  the  jarring  and 
conflicting  passions,  ambitions,  combats  and  struggles 
of  men,  there  is  an  all-governing,  all-superintending, 
ell-shaping  Providence.  You  see  that  throughout  all 
history  "one  increasing  purpose  runs,"  "a  power,  not 
ourselves,  which  makes  for  righteousness."  History 
proves  that  there  is  a  God. 

But  there  is  one  special  history  that  proves  that  there 
is  a  God,  that  is  the  history  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  re- 
corded in  the  gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John.    Great  efforts  have  been  put  forth  to  disprove  the 
authenticity  of  that  history;  men  of  the  most  remark- 
able genius,  of  the  profoundest  scholarship,  of  untiring 
activity,  have  struggled  to  pull  to  pieces  the  history  of 
Jesus  Christ,  as  recorded  in  the  four  gospels,  and  every 
effort  of  that  kind  has  met  with  utter  failure.     The 
strongest,  the  ablest,  the  most  remarkable  and  scholarly 
effort  ever  made  was  that  of  David  Strauss,  in  the  Lehen 
Jesu.    It  seemed  to  some  for  awhile,  as  if  David  Strauss 
had  succeeded  in  taking  out  of  the  life  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  many  things  commonly  believed.    But  when 
the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  great  German  rational 
ist  was  itself  subjected  to  criticism,  it  went  to  pieces 
until  there  was  nothing  left.    It  was  utterly  discredited. 
It  would  not  bear  careful  and  candid  examination.    Re- 
nan,  with  rare  subtlety  and  literary  deftness,  endeav- 
oured to  succeed  where  Strauss  had  failed.    But  his 
own  attempt  to  eliminate  the  supernatural  from  the 
life  of  Jesus  was  less  able  in  almost  every  way  than 


;> 


\ 


io 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


that  of  his  German  predecessor,  and  failed  completely. 
And  every  other  similar  effort  to  pull  to  pieces  and 
discredit  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  recorded  in  the 
four  gospels,   has   failed   absolutely.      And  to-day  it 
stands  established  beyond  the  possibility  of  candid  ques- 
tion  that  Jesus  lived  and  acted,  at  least  substantially— 
I  believe  far  more  than  that-as  recorded  in  the  four 
gospels.    It  is  absolutely  impossible  for  a  man  to  sii 
down  before  the  four  gospels  with  an  unbiassed  and 
honest  mind,  determined  to  find  out  the  truth,  and  come 
to  any  other  conclusion  than  that  this  four  gospel  record 
of  the  life  and  words  and  works  of  Jesus  is  substantially 
accurate  history. 

If  Jesus  lived  as  this  Gospel  says  He  did,  if  He 
wrought  as  this  Gospel  says  He  wrought,  healed  the 
sick,  cleansed  the  leper,  raised  the  dead,  fed  the  five 
thousand  with  five  loaves  and  two  small  fishes,  and 
If,  above  all,  having  been  put  to  death.  He  was  raised 
from  the  dead,  it  proves  to  a  demonstration  that  back 
of  the  works  He  performed,  back  of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ,  is  God.    There  is  a  God. 

The  history  of  the  individual  Christian  proves  the 
existence  of  God.  I  do  not  depend  upon  the  argument 
from  design  or  from  history— I  once  did;  I  do  not 
depend  even  upon  the  argument  from  the  life  of  Jesus 
Christ— I  once  did.  I  know  there  is  a  God  because  I 
have  personal  dealings  with  Him  every  day  of  my  life. 
Some  subtle  philosopher  might  construct  a  very  spe^ 
cious  argument  to  prove  to  me  that  there  is  no  such 
person  as  Charles  Alexander;  but  after  all  is  said  I 
still  know  that  there  is,  for  I  have  the  most  intimate 


QOD 


IX 


relations  with  him  every  day  of  my  life.    But  I  have 
had  more  intimate  dealings  with  God  than  with  Mr. 
Charles  Alexander.    I  know  that  there  is  a  God  before 
I  know  that  there  is  such  a  person  as  Mr.  Charles 
Alexander.    I  started  out  years  ago  on  the  hypothesis 
that  there  was  a  Gofl,  and  that  God  acted  as  the  Bible 
records  that  He  acts.    I  determined  to  put  this  hypothe- 
sis to  the  most  rigid  test  to  see  if  it  worked.  I  have  put 
that  hypothesis  to  the  test  during  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  it  has  never  failed.  If  there  had  not  been  a  God,  or 
if  there  had  been  a  Go.d  different  from  the  one  of  whom 
the  Bible  tells  us,  I  should  have  made  shipwreck  of 
everything  years  ago.     But  the  hypothesis  has  never 
failed;  I  have  risked  my  life,  reputation,  work,  every- 
tliing  upon  the  fact  that  the  God  of  the  Bible  is.    And, 
friends,  I  risked  and  won.    There  is  a  God.    There- 
fore the  man  who  says  that  there  is  no  God  is  a  fool ; 
for  any  man  who  denies  a  fact  is  a  fool.     He  who 
denies  the  supreme  fact  is  a  supreme  fool.    Not  only 
is  there  a  God;  but  He  is  the  supreme  fact  of  nature, 
of  history,  of  science,  of  philosophy,  of  personal  life. 
Look  at  the  lirst  four  words  of  the  Bible,  and  you  will 
read  the  profoundest  philosophy.    "In  the  beginning, 
God."    In  the  beginning  of  nature,  God;  in  the  be- 
ginning of  science,  God;  in  the  beginning  of  human 
history,  God ;  in  the  beginning  of  individual  experience, 
God;  in  the  beginning  of  everything,  God.     That  is 
the  supreme  fact ;  and  he  who  denies  it  merely  because 
he  does  not  want  to  believe  it  is  the  supreme  fool. 


10 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


II.    God  is  Great 

Ood  is  great  That  thought  comes  out  in  the  BiWe, 
from  the  first  verse  to  the  last.  Oh,  the  majesty  of  God, 
the  infinite  greatness  of  God!  This  whole  universe, 
ahout  which  we  are  learning  such  wonderful  things 
every  day,  is  His  creative  work.  The  supreme  difference 
between  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  and  the  teaching  of 
modern  thought  is  this — the  teaching  of  the  Bible  is 
an  infinite  God  and  an  infinitesimal  man,  except  as 
God's  goodness  makes  him  great.  The  teaching  of 
modern  literature  and  modem  thought  is — an  infinite 
man  and  an  infinitesimal  god.  We  live  in  a  day  that 
has  a  very  great  man  and  a  very  small  god.  Stop  and 
think.  There  are  one  billion  four  hundred  million 
people  like  you  on  this  earth  to-day.  Tou  are  just  one 
out  of  that  vast  number.  Not  very  big — are  you  ?  But 
wait.  Take  the  whole  earth  on  which  these  one  billion 
four  hundred  millions  live;  it  is  a  very  small  part  of 
the  universe.  If  the  sun  were  hollow  and  a  hole  bored 
into  it,  one  million  four  hundred  thousand  earths 
could  be  poured  into  the  sun,  and  still  leave  room  for 
them  to  rattle  around.  But  the  sun  is  only  one  sun 
out  of  many  suns.  Our  whole  solar  system  is  but  one 
out  of  many.  I  was  reading  an  article  the  other  day, 
on  my  way  from  India,  in  which  an  eminent  man  of 
science  said  that  there  are  probably  at  least  a  million 
suns  as  large  as  ours.  Wait  a  moment !  You  are  only 
one  out  of  one  thousand  four  hundred  million  persons 
on  this  earth.  Of  earths  such  as  this  upon  which  we 
live  it  woidd  take  more  than  one  million  four  hundred 
thousand  poured  into  the  sun  to  fill  it.    Yet  the  sun  is 


QOD 


IS 


only  one  ont  of  a  million  btuib.  And  there  may  be  a 
million  universes  such  as  ours.  And  God  made  them 
all.  That  God  whose  name  you  dared  take  upon  your 
lips  in  vain  last  night ;  that  God  whom  you  dare  pliiloso- 
phise  about  and  say  how  He  ought  to  act.  Take  one 
and  divide  it  by  fourteen  hundred  million  multiplied 
by  one  million  four  hundred  thousand  multiplied  by 
one  million  multiplied  by  manv  millions  and  that  is 
you.  Multiply  fourteen  hundred  million  by  one  million 
four  hundred  thousand,  and  that  by  one  million,  and 
that  by  many  millions,  and  that  by  infinity,  and  that  is 
God.  And  yet  you  venture  to  say  how  God  ought  to  act. 
If  ever  a  man  appears  like  a  consummate  idiot,  it  is 
when  he  tries  to  tell  you  how  God  ought  to  act.  God  is 
infinite,  and  no  number  of  finites  will  ever  equal  the 
infinite,  and  the  Infinite  God  is  of  immeasurably  more 
importance  than  the  whole  race  of  infinitesimal  men 
who  inhabit  this  little  globe.  Yet  you  venture  to  say 
how  God  ought  to  act.    Thou  fool! 

III.    God  is  Holt. 

Ood  is  holy.  How  the  Bible  in  every  page  brings 
that  out!  How  it  labors  with  all  its  type''  '"rifices, 
ceremonies,  explicit  teaching,  to  impret  .,  men 
and  women  that  God  is  holy.  Take  the  o-^jreme  ex- 
pression of  it  in  1  John  i.  5,  "God  is  light  and  in  Him 
is  no  darkness  at  all.''  In  the  Scripture  lesson  to-night 
I  read  a  passage  from  Isaiah  in  which  he  gives  us  a 
bit  of  his  own  biography.  He  was,  perhaps,  the  best 
man  of  his  time,  but  when  he  got  one  glimpse  of  God 
in  His  holiness,  when  he  saw  even  the  seraphim  (the 


■■W!!T 


14 


KEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


burning  ones,  glowing  in  their  own  holiness)  covering 
their  faces  and  their  feet  in  the  presence  of  the  infinitely 
Holy  Jehovah,  he  was  overwhelmed,  and  cried,  "Woe 
is  me,  for  I  am  undone,  because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean 
lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  unclean 
lips,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of 
Hosts."  Men  and  women  of  London,  if  there  should 
burst  upon  this  audience  to-night  a  real  vision  of 
God  in  His  holiness,  this  whole  great  gathering  would 
fall  on  their  faces  and  cry,  "Woe  is  me,  for  I  am  un- 
done."   Not  one  of  you  could  keep  your  seats. 

IV.   We  Must  All  Meet  God, 

Last  thought.  You  and  I  some  day  must  meet  this 
holy  Ood.  The  prophet  Amos  cries,  "Prepare  to  meet 
thy  God"  (Amos  iv.  12).  Every  man  and  woman  here 
must  some  day  meet  God.  The  lich  man  must  meet 
God !  The  beggar  must  meet  God !  The  scholar  must 
meet  God!  The  illiterate  man  must  meet  God!  The 
nobleman  must  meet  God !  The  king  must  meet  God ! 
The  emperor  must  meet  God!  Every  one  must  meet 
God !  The  supreme  question  of  life,  then,  is  this :  Are 
you  ready  to  meet  God?  None  of  us  can  tell  how  soon 
it  may  be  that  we  shall  meet  God.  The  king  of  Spain, 
as  the  bulletins  flashed  across  the  wires  to-night,  has 
been  very  near  meeting  his  God  to-day.  Some  of  us 
may  meet  Him  within  the  next  twenty-four  hours;  more 
within  the  year;  many  more  within  five  years;  and 
within  forty  years  almost  ever  man  and  woman  in  this 
audience  will  have  met  God.  Are  you  ready?  If  not,  I 
implore  you  to  get  ready  before  leaving  this  hall  to- 
night 


GOD 


15 


How  can  we  meet  God  with  joy  and  not  with  dismay? 
There  is  ouly  one  ground  upon  which  man  may  meet 
God  with  joy  and  not  with  despair.  That  pround  is  the 
atoning  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  God  is  infinitely  holy, 
and  the  best  of  us  is  but  a  sinner.  The  only  ground 
upon  which  a  sinner  can  meet  the  holy  God  is  on  the 
ground  of  the  shed  blood,  the  blood  of  Christ.  Any 
one  of  us,  no  matter  how  outcast  or  vile,  can  go  boldly 
into  the  Holy  of  Holies  on  the  ground  of  the  shed 
blood,  and  the  best  man  or  woman  that  ever  walked 
this  earth  can  meet  God  on  no  other  ground  than  the 
shed  blood.  There  is  only  one  adequate  preparation 
for  the  sinner  to  meet  God,  that  is  the  acceptance  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  our  personal  Saviour,  who  bore  all  our 
sins  on  the  Cross  of  Calvary,  and  as  our  risen  Saviour 
who  is  able  to  set  uu  free  from  the  power  '^f  sin. 

Men  and  women,  are  you  ready  to  meet  God?  If  it 
be  the  will  of  God,  I  am  ready  to  go  up  into  His  pres- 
ence, and  meet  Him  face  to  face  to-night.  Do  you  say, 
Have  you  never  sinned?  Alas,  I  have.  Sinned  so 
deeply  as  none  of  you  will  ever  know,  thank  God.  But, 
thank  God  still  more,  when  Jesus  Christ  was  nailed  to 
yonder  Cross  of  Calvary,  all  my  sins  were  settled.  I 
like  a  sheep  had  gone  astray.  I  had  turned  to  my  own 
way,  but  God  laid  on  Him  my  sin  (Isaiah  liii,  6),  and 
the  sacrifice  God  provided  I  have  accepted.  I  am 
ready  to  meet  God  face  to  face  to-night  and  look  into 
those  eyes  of  infinite  holiness,  for  all  my  sins  are  cov- 
ered by  the  atoning  blood. 

Are  you  ready  to  meet  God?  Let  me  sum  up.  There 
is  a  God.  God  k  great.  God  is  holy.  You  and  I  must 


16 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


meet  Him.  There  is  only  one  adequate  preparation— 
the  acceptance  of  Christ  as  our  Sin-bearer,  our  Saviour, 
Deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin.  Will  you  acceDt 
Christ  to-night?  ^ 


u 

THE  GREATEST  SENTENCE  THAT  WAS  EVER 
WRITTEN 


"God  is  Love."— I  John  iv.  8. 

My  subject  is  the  greatest  sentence  that  was  ever  writ- 
ten. Of  course,  that  sentence  is  in  the  Bible.  All  the 
greatest  sentences  are  in  the  one  Book.  The  Bible  has 
a  way  of  putting  more  in  a  single  sentence  than  other 
writers  can  put  in  a  whole  book.  Yet  there  are  some 
who  would  tell  us  that  the  Bible  is  no  more  God's  Book 
than  other  books.  Either  they  have  not  read  the 
Bible,  or  they  have  read  it  with  their  eyes  closed. 

This  sentence  has  in  it  but  three  words.  Each  word 
is  a  monosyllable.  One  word  has  four  letters,  one  three, 
and  one  only  two ;  yet  these  nine  letters,  forming  three 
monosyllables,  contain  so  much  of  truth  that  the  world 
has  been  pondering  it  for  eighteen  centuries,  and  has 
not  got  to  the  bottom  of  it  yet.  Whole  volumes  are  dedi- 
cated to  the  exposition  of  this  wonderful  sentence — thou- 
sands of  volumes. 

1  John  iv.  8,  "God  is  love."  That  is  the  greatest 
sentence  that  was  ever  written.  That  sentence  is 
the  key-note  of  the  mission  that  begins  to-day. 
Everything  that  you  will  hear  in  song  or  in  word  for 
the  next  four  weeks  in  this  mission  revolves  round  that 
one  central  truth,  "God  is  love."    That  sums  up  the 


18 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


whole  contents  of  the  Bible,  If  I  were  asked  for  a  sen- 
tence  to  print  in  letters  of  gold  on  the  outside  of  our 
Bible,  a  sentence  that  summed  up  the  whole  contents 
ot  the  Book,  it  would  be  this  one,  "God  is  Love  "  That 
IS  the  subject  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  it  is  the 
subject  of  the  last  chapter  of  Revelation,  and  it  is  the 
subject  of  every  chapter  that  lies  in  between. 

The  Bible  is  simply  God's  love  story,  the  story  of  the 
love  of  a  holy  God  to  a  sinful  world.    That  is  the  most 
amazing  thing  in  the  Bible.    People  tell  us  the  Bible  is 
full  of  things  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe.      I  know 
of  nothing  else  so  impossible  to  believe  as  that  a  holy 
God  should  love  a  sinful  world,  and  should  love  such 
individuals  as    you  and  me,  as  the  Bible  says  He  does. 
But  impossible  as  it  is  to  believe,  it  is  true.    There  is* 
mighty  power  in  that  one  short  sentence,  power  to  break 
the  hardest  heart,  power  to  reach  individual  men  and 
women  who  are  sunk  down  in  sin,  and  to  lift  them  up 
until  they  are  fit  for  a  place  beside  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  upon  the  Throne. 

When  Mr.  Moody  organized  the  church  in  Chicago, 
of  which  I  am  pastor,  he  was  so  anxious  that  evervbody 
should  always  hear  this  one  truth,  and  was  so  afraid 
that  some  preacher  might  come  and  forget  to  tell  it 
that  he  had  it  put  on  the  gas  jets  right  above  the  pulpit,' 
so  that  the  first  thing  you  would  see  when  you  went  in 
there  on  an  evening  was  that  text  shining  out  in  letters 
of  fire. 

One  stormy  night,  before  the  time  of  the  meeting, 
the  door  stood  ajar.  A  man  partly  intoxicated  saw  it 
open,  and  thought  he  might  go  in  and  get  warm.  He 
did  not  know  what  sort  of  a  place  it  was,  but  when  he 
pushed  the  door  open  he  saw  the  text  blazing  out,  "God 


"GOD  IS  LOVE" 


10 


iB  love."  He  pulled  the  door  to,  and  walked  away  mut- 
tering to  nimself.  He  said,  "God  is  not  love.  If  God  is 
love,  He  would  love  me.  God  does  not  love  a  wretch  like 
me."  But  it  kept  on  burning  down  into  his  soul,  "God 
is  love!  God  is  Love!  God  is  Love!"  After  a  while 
he  retraced  his  steps,  and  took  a  seat  in  a  corner.  When 
Mr.  Moody  walked  down  after  the  meeting,  he  found 
the  man  weeping  like  a  child.  "What  is  the  trouble?" 
he  asked.  "What  was  it  in  the  sermon  that  touched 
you?"  "I  didn't  hear  a  word  of  your  sermon."  "Well, 
what  is  the  trouble?"  "That  text  up  there."  Mr. 
Moody  sat  down  and  from  his  Bible  showed  him  the 
way  of  life,  and  he  was  saved, 

I  hope  it  will  break  some  of  your  hearts.    I  am  not 
going  to  tell  you  what  I  think  of  the  love  of  God.    I  am 
going  to  give  you  the  Bible's  plain  statements  about  it. 
There  are  people  who  start  out  with  this  text  as  a  foun- 
dation, and  build  a  superstructure  of  speculation  that 
contrae.cts  the  plain  teaching  of  the  very  Book  from 
which  they  have  taken  their  foundation-stone.     Now, 
nothing  can  be  more  illogical  than  that.    One  of  two 
things  is  certainly  true.    Either  the  Bible  is  true,  or  it  is 
not  true.     If  the  Bible  is  not  true,  we  have  no  proof  that 
God  is  love,  so  that  all  these  universalist  schemes,  built 
on  the  foundation  that  "God  is  love,"  crumble  away.    If 
the  Bible  is  true,  these  schemes  which  contradict  its 
plain  teaching  are  false.    You  can  take  whichever  horn 
of  the  dilemma  you  please.    Whichever  you  take,  the 
■■  '^uow  universalism  of  the  present  day  crumbles  away. 
What  does  the  Bible  tell  us  as  to  how  God  shows  His 

love  ? 

1.  Tlidt   God  shows  Ilis  love  htj  pardoning   Sin. 
^Isaiah  Iv.  7 :  "Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 


20 


EEVIVAL  ADDEESSES 


unrighteous  man  his  thoughts;  and  let  him  return  unfo 
the  Lord,  and  He  will  have  mercy  upon  him;  and  to  our 
Irod,  for  He  will  abundantly  pardon."  God  tells  us 
plainly  in  His  Word  that  He  is  willing  to  forgive  any 
emner  that  lives,  no  matter  how  deep  down  he  has  gone, 
If  he  will  only  turn  from  sin  and  turn  to  Him;  and  He 
will  forgive  him  the  very  moment  he  does  so.  Of  course 
God  cannot  forgive  a  man  while  he  holds  on  to  his 
Bin,  and  retain  His  own  moral  character. 

I  have  a  boy.    I  love  that  boy,  and  I*  would  give  a 
^at  deal  to  see  him    -ow.    I  believe  there  is  nothing 
that  boy  could  do  but,  if  he  repented  and  turned  from 
It,  I  would  forgive  him.    But  I  could  not  forgive  him 
if  he  held  on  to  his  evil  way.    I  could  continue  to  love 
him  and  seek  to  save  him,  but  I  could  not  forgive  him 
And  God  cannot  forgive  us,  and  remain  what  He  is— a 
holy  God— until  we  are  ready  to  quit  our  sin.    But  the 
moment  we  are.  He  will  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  He 
will  abundantly  pardon.    If  the  wickedest  man  or  wo- 
man in  Edinburgh  should  have  come  in  to-night— and 
I  hope  they  have— and  should  here  and  now  turn  from 
sin,  the  moment  they  did  so,  God  would  blot  out  every 
Bin  they  ever  committed. 

I  knew  a  millionaire  in  New  York  City  who  turned 
tus  back  on  all  his  business  and  mor-'y-making  to  save 
the  perishing  When  he  was  going  down  one  of  the 
streets  one  night,  a  poor  woman  came  out  of  an  under- 
ground den  of  infamy  and  groaned  as  he  passed  My 
friend  stepped  up  to  her  and  told  her  of  the  love  of 
God.  At  first  she  would  not  believe,  but  he  persuaded 
her  that  God  loved  her.  He  gave  her  a  shelter.  She 
did  not  live  long— only  about  two  years— but  before  she 
died,  NeUie  Conroy  stood  up  before  a  great  audience  in 


«GOD  IS  LOVE' 


21 


the  Cooper  Institute,  and  told  them  how  God  had  saved 
her.  Tears  were  streaming  down  the  faces  of  all.  A 
little  while  after  she  lay  dying,  and,  as  my  friend 
came  into  the  room,  she  said:  "Uncle  Chariie— he 
was  not  her  uncle,  but  she  called  him  so  for  the  love 
she  bore — "I  will  soon  see,  in  a  few  hours,  little 
Florence,  and  I  will  see  Jesus."  And  Nellie  Conroy, 
the  pardoned  and  blood-washed  sinner,  went  up  to  be- 
hold the  King.  There  is  not  a  man  cr  woman  in 
Edinburgh  that  God  will  not  save  the  moment  they 
turn  from  their  sin. 

2.  God  shows  His  Love  ly  taking  account  of  Sin,  and 
punishing  t7.— Hebrews  xii.  6 :  "For  whom  the  Lord 
lovcth  He  chasteneth,  and  scourgcth  every  son  whom 
He  receiveth."  People  think  God  will  allow  sin  to  go  on 
unchecked,  unrebuked,  unpunished.  "God  is  love,"'  and 
therefore  He  takes  account  of  and  pun:  hes  sin.  There 
are  fathers  who  are  so  selfish  that  they  will  not  punish 
their  children  when  it  is  necessary  for  their  good.  It 
hurts  their  feelings,  as  it  does  to  all  true  fathers;  and 
the,  are  so  selfish  that  they  sacrifice  the  welfare  of  the 
children  in  order  to  spare  their  own  feelings.  That 
k  not  love  but  consummate  selfishness. 

One  of  my  children  disobeyed  me.    I  said  to  myself, 
**That  ehild  be  punished."     Oh,  h-w  I  studied 

to  find  some  jut,  but  I  ''-nld  not  do  it.    I  knew 

that  for  the  child's  highest  welfare,  punishment  must 
be  administered,  and  the  child  was  punished.  I  suf- 
fered a  great  deal  more  than  the  child,  but  I  loved  the 
child  enough  to  sacrifice  my  feelings  for  the  child's 
welfare.  God  suffers  when  you  and  I  are  punished; 
but  He  loves  us  so  much,  that  when  we  need  to  suffer 
He  administers  the  suffering  Himself. 


22 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


A  gentleman  with  whom  I  was  staying  said  to  me 
one  day,  "Would  you  like  to  take  a  drive?"    We  went 
out  to  a  cemetery,  and  came  to  a  place  where  there  were 
three  graves     One  was  long;  it  was  an  adult  one,  and 
m  It  his  wife  was  buried.     In  the  two  short  graves 
were  the  bodies  of  his  two  daughters,  all  he  had  except 
a  baby  boy.     We  knelt    and    prayed    by    the    side 
of  the  graves.    As  we  were  driving  back  to  town  the 
gent  em^  said    «I  pity  the  man  that  God  has  not 
chastened."    What  did  he  mean?    He  meant  that  he 
had  been  a  man  of  the  world,  an  upright  man,  but  not 
a  Christian.      One  night  when  he  came  home  his  wife 
said.    Porter,  one  of  the  children  is  sick."    In  a  'ew 
days  she  was  cold  and  dead;  and,  as  she  lay  in  th»  cas- 
ket, he  knelt  down  and  promised  God  to  take  Christ  as 
his  Lord  and  Master.    But  he  lied  to  God,  and  forgot 
all  about  his  resolution.    Some  time  after  he  came 
home  again,  and  his  wife  said,  "Porter,  the  other  child 
is  sick.        In  a  few  days  she  ako  lay  cold  and  dead 
Once  more  he  knelt  down  and  promised  God  that  he 
would  become  a  Christian,  and  kept  his  word     All  the 
holiest,  deepest,  purest  joys  of  life  had  come  from  hia 
great  sorrow. 

Are  you  in  sorrow?  It  is  because  God  loves  you 
Are  there  some  here  resisting  the  entreaties  of  God's 
mercy  and  grace?  I  beseech  you  to  repent.  I  tremble 
for  some  men  ?nd  women,  for  those  who  know  the  way 
of  life,  with  whom  God  is  striving  by  His  holy  Spirit, 
but  who  wiU  not  come  to  Him.  I  tremble  for  them,  bo^ 
cause  I  know  that  God  loves  them.  You  think  that'is  a 
very  strange  reason  for  trembling  for  a  man.  No  I 
know  God  loves  you,  and  so  loves  you  that,  if  He 


"GOD  IS  LOVE" 


23 


cannot  bring  you  in  any  other  way.  He  will  bring  you 
by  sorrow  and  heart-ache. 

A  friend  of  mine  in  Chicago,  Colonel  Clark,  spent 
his  fortune  in  saving  the  lost.  He  went  down  every 
night  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  a  mission.  There  was 
one  man  who  had  been  attending  and  resisting  God's 
entreaties  of  mercy  for  a  long  time;  and  one  night  as 
he  came  along  Col.  Clark  said,  "George,  if  you  do 
not  turn  from  sin  pretty  quick,  I  believe  God  will  take 
away  your  wife  and  child  from  you,  and  will  lock  you 
up."  The  man  was  very  angry,  and  said,  "Colonel 
Clark,  you  mind  your  own  business ;  I  will  mind  mine." 
One  month  from  that  night  George  woke  up  on  the 
floor  of  Rochester  Jail.  His  wife  was  dead,  his  child 
had  been  taken  away  from  him  to  be  put  into  better 
hands  than  his.  Right  there  he  took  Christ  as  his 
Saviour,  and  now  he  is  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Re- 
member, God  loves  you,  and  "whom  the  Lord  loveth  He 
chasteneth." 

3.  God  shows  His  love  for  us  ly  sympathizing  with 
us. — Isaiah  Ixiii.  9:  "In  all  their  aflliction  He  was 
afflicted."  That  is  one  of  the  wonderful  sentences  of 
this  book.  The  prophet  is  speaking  about  the  children 
of  Israel.  Their  afflictions  were  appalling,  and  the 
direct  consequence  of  their  own  sin,  a  judgment  sent 
by  the  hand  of  God,  and  yet  the  prophet  said  God 
suffered  with  them  in  their  sorrow.  It  is  true.  There 
is  not  a  man  or  woman  here  who  is  in  trouble  but 
God  sjTnpathizes  with  you.  It  may  have  come  in  any 
way,  but  if  you  have  any  trouble  God  sympathizes  with 
you  in  it. 

Some  of  you  know  what  it  is  to  have  a  child  sick  for 
a  long  time.     At  first  friends  came  and  sympathized 


S4 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


with  you,  but  their  sympathy  has  grown  cold;  and,  as 
you  have  watched  day  and  night  by  that  fading  life 
you  have  said:  "There  is  no  one  who  sympathizes  with 
me."  Yes,  there  is.  God  sympathizes  with  you. 
There  are  men  and  women  who  have  a  sorrow  of  such 
a  character  that  they  cannot  confide  it  to  any  human 
ear;  and  they  say:  "Nobody  knows  it.  Nobody  sym- 
pathizes with  me."  Yes,  there  is  One  who  knows,  and 
He  sjTnpathizes  with  you — God. 

4.     God  shows  His  Love   by  His  Gifts.— I  cannot 
dwell  upon  that.    I  just  want  to  speak  of  one    gift 
1  John  iii.  1,  2:    "Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the 
Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called 
the  sons  of  God."    Oh,  that  wondrous  gift  that  God  be- 
stowed upon  you  and  me,  that  men  and  women  like  us 
should  be  called  children  of  God !    Oh,  what  love !  Sup- 
pose on  his  coronation  day  King  Edward,  after  all  the 
the  ceremonies  were  over,  had  taken  his  carriage  of 
state,  and  had  ridden  down  to  the  East  End  of  London, 
and  had  seen  some  ragged,  wretched,  profane  boy,  utter-' 
^y  uneducated  and  morally  corrupt.    Suppose  his  great 
heart  of  love  had  gone  out  to  that  boy,  and,  stepping 
up  to  that  poor  wanderer,  he  had  said :    "I  love  you.  I 
am  going  to  take  you  in  my  carriage  to  the  palace  "  I 
am  gomg  to  dress  you  fit  to  be  a  king's  son,  and  you 
shall^be  known  as  the  son  of  King  Edward  the  Sev- 
enth."     Would  it  not  have  been  wonderful?    But  it 
would  not  have  been  so  wonderful  as  that  the  in- 
finitely holy  God  should  have  looked  down  upon  you 
and  me  m  our  filthiness  and  rags  and  depravity,  and 
liat  He  should  have  so  loved  us  that  He  should  have 
f)ostowed  upon  us  to  be  called  the  sons  of  God 
5.    God  shows  His  Love  by  the  Sacrifice  He  has  made 


«QOD  IS  LOVE' 


25 


for  ttf. — Sacrifice;  after  all  that  is  the  great  test  of  love. 
People  tell  you  that  they  love  you,  but  you  cannot  tell 
whether  they  really  love  you  till  the  opportunity  comes 
for  them  to  make  a  sacrifice  for  you.    I  had  a  friend  in 
the  university.    We  though!  a  good  deal  of  each  other; 
but  I  did  not  know  how  much  he  loved  me.     Years 
after,  one  night  when  I  was  away  preaching,  this  friend 
turned  up  at  my  house  and  got  to  talking  with  my 
wife.    He  asked  a  good  many  leading  questions,  and 
finally  got  out  of  her  that  I  was  in  a  position  in  which  I 
needed  fifteen  hundred  dollars.    He  did  not  say  any 
more  at  the  time,  but  next  day  he  came  to  me  and  said: 
"You  think  of  doing  so  and  so."    "Yes."    "That  costs 
money."    "I  have  a  scheme  to  get  it."    "What  is  it?" 
"I  have  plans."    "Well,  what  are  they?"    I  did  not 
think  it  was  his  business,  but   finally  I  told  him. 
He  said:    "It  will  not  work  at  all.     See  here.    Just 
let  me  give  you  that  fifteen  hundred  dollars."    "Well," 
I  said,  "I  am  not  going  to  let  any  man  give  me  fifteen 
hundred  dollars."   "Oh,  you  can  pay  it  back."    "I  don't 
know  about  that."    "I  will  take  my  chances."    He  in- 
sisted, and  would  not  take  "No"  for  an  answer;  he 
gave  me  that  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  I  have  paid 
it  back,  but  he  did  not  know  I  would.    I  knew  then 
that  man  loved  me.    God  has  proved  His  love.    "God 
80  loved  the  world  that  He  gave" — gave  what? — ^"His 
only  begotten  Son" — ^the  best  He  had,  the  object  of  his 
eternal  love — ^gave  Him  to  suffer  and  die  upon  the 
cruel  cross  for  you  and  me. 

God  looked  down  upon  this  lost  world,  upon  you  and 
me.  He  saw  that  there  was  only  one  price  that  could 
save  us ;  and  He  did  not  stop  at  that  sacrifice.  He  "so 
loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son, 


W  REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 

that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish  but 
have  everlasting  life."    That  is  the  most  amazing  thing 
m  the  Bible.    You  and  I  sometimes  dwell  upon  the  love 
of  Chnst,  to  give  up  Heaven  for  us.    We  look  at  Him 
m    he  courtyard  of  Pilate,  fastened  to  the  whipping- 
post, with  His  bare  back  exposed  to  the  lash  of  the 
Roman  soldier.    We  look  at  Him  as  the  lash  cuts  into 
His  back  again  and  again,  and  again,  till  it  is  all  torn 
and  bleeding.     Oh,  how  He  loved  us!     But  looking 
down  from  yon  throne  in  heaven  was  God;  and  every 
lash  that  cut  the  back  of  Christ  cut  the  heart  of  God 
We  see  the  soldiers  with  the  crown  of  thorns,  pressing  it 
on  His  brow,  and  we  see  the  blood  flowing  down.    Oh 
how  he  loved  us!    But  every  thorn  that  pierced  His 
brow  pierced  also  the  heart  of  God. 

Through  the  dusk  of  that  awful  day  we  see  Him 
on  the  cross.  We  hear  the  last  cry,  '^My  God,  My  God 
why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me?"  We  see  how  He  loved 
us.  But  yonder,  looking  down  from  the  throne  of  light 
and  glory,  was  God;  and  every  nail  that  pierced  His 
hands  and  feet  pierced  the  heart  of  God,  because  He 
loved  you,  and  you,  and  you,  every  one  of  you.  "God  so 
loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  " 
Oh.  It  was  wonderful !  What  are  you  going  to  do  about 
this  love? 

I  once  heard  a  story  which  brought  me  such  a  glimpse 
of  Gods  love  as  I  never  had  before.  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  is  true  or  not.  A  man  was  set  to  watch  a 
railway  drawbridge  over  a  river.  He  threw  it  open 
and  let  vessels  through.  He  heard  the  whistle  of  a 
tram  up  the  track,  and  sprang  to  the  lever  to  bring  the 
bridge  back  into  place,  and  as  he  was  doing  so  he 
accidentally  pushed  his  boy  into  the  river.    He  heaid 


"GOD  IS  LOVE' 


87 


the  cry,  "Father,  save  me;  I  am  drowning."  What 
ehould  ho  do?  The  man  stood  at  the  post  of  duty, 
brought  the  bridge  back  so  tliat  the  train  could  pass 
over  in  safety.  Then  he  jumped  into  the  river  to  save 
his  boy,  but  it  was  too  late.  He  sacrificed  his  boy  to  do 
his  duty.  When  I  heard  that  story  I  wondered,  if  it 
had  been  my  boy,  what  1  '-"ild  have  done.  That  man 
owed  it  to  those  on  the  train  to  do  what  he  did.  Cod 
owed  you  and  me  nothing.  We  were  guilty  rebels 
against  him,  but  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
Ills  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

What  are  you  going  to  do  with  His  love  ?  Accept  it, 
or  trample  it  under  foot?  Accept  Christ,  and  you  ac- 
cept that  love ;  reject  Christ,  and  you  trample  that  love 
under  foot.  I  cannot  understand  how  any  man  or  wom- 
an in  their  right  senses  can  harden  their  hearts  against 
the  love  of  God. 

I  remember  one  night  at  the  close  of  our  service  we 
had  an  after-meeting.  The  choir  were  still  sitting,  and 
the  leading  soprano  was  unconverted — a  thoroughly 
worldly  irl.  Her  mother  rose  in  the  meeting,  and  said, 
"I  wish  you  would  pray  for  my  daughter."  I  did  not 
look  around,  but  I  knew  intuitively  how  that  girl  looked 
at  that  moment  T  made  it  my  business  to  meet  her  as 
she  was  passing  out,  and  said,  "Good  evening,  Cora." 
Her  eyes  flashed  and  cheeks  burned ;  she  was  very  an- 
gry. She  said,  "My  mother  ought  to  have  known  bet- 
ter. She  knows  it  will  only  make  me  worse."  I  said, 
"Sit  down";  and  I  turned  to  Isaiah  liii.  5:  "He  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions.  He  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities:  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
Him;  and  with  His  stripes  ..e  are  heded."    I  did  not 


S8 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


J^Lr"*?''.  T'^-  ^*  ^««  "°t  necessary.  The  anger 
faded  out  of  those  eyes,  and  burning  tears  of  penitenoe 

when  I  came  back  some  one  said,  "Cora  is  sick  "  I 
found  her  very  sick,  but  rejoicing  in  Jesus.  A  few' days 
after  her  brother  came  and  said,  "We  think  Cora  is 
'ijmg.  I  went  at  once,  and  looked  on  the  whitest  face 
I  ever  saw.    She  had  not  opened  her  eyes  all  ^bc  morn 

ZLr'      %!  ^''t  ^"^'^''^  P^^^'^°^'  '^^'^  ^^n^«  from 
those  hp^till  without  opening  her    eyes-the    most 

wonderful  prayer  I  ever  heard.  She  thanked  God  for 
giving  His  son  to  die  for  her.  She  told  Him  how  she 
longed  to  live  to  sing  to  His  glory,  as  she  had  sung  in 
the  past  for  herself;  but  "if  it  be  not  Thy  will  That 
1  live  a.  ,  smg  for  Christ,  I  shall  be  glad  to  depart 
and  to  be  With  Christ."  And  depart  she  did'  wUh  ^ 
heart  conquered,  transformed,  by  the  love  of  God.  What 
are  you  going  to  do  with  the  love  of  God? 

I  have  here  a  story  cut  from  a  paper  to-day.    Mrs 
Bottome,  of  New  York  City,  says  that  she  had  a  irZa 
m  her  girlhood  of  whom  she  lost  sight  completely  for 
eighteen  years.    Going  back  to  New  York  she  was  pass- 
ing  along  a  street,  and  up  in  a  second  story  window 
she  saw  her  friend's  face,  surrounded  bv  prematurely 
grey  hair     She  ran  up  to  the  door  of  the  house,  and 
said  to  the  maid,  "Take  that  card  to  your  mistress." 
Hhe  IS  not  at  home,"  was  the  answer.    "Oh  yes  she  is- 
I  saw  her  at  the  window";  and  Mrs.  Bottome  rushed 
past  the  maid  up  into  the  room,  and  they  fell  into  one 
another's  arms.    "What  has  become  of  you  for  all  these 
years?    asked  Mrs.  Bottome.    The  answer  was,  "Come 
into  the  other  room,  and  I  will  show  you."    In  a  room 
magnificently  fitted  up  there  sat  an  idiot  boy  of  seven- 


"GOD  IS  LOVE" 


29 


teen  years  of  age,  scarcely  able  to  talk — a  driveling 
idiot.  His  mother  said,  "My  duty  lies  here,  with  my 
darling  boy."  Mrs.  Bottome  says  that  in  a  moment  of 
thoughtlessness  she  asked,  "How  can  you  endure  it?  I 
do  not  wonder  you  are  prematurely  grey."  I  knew  you 
would  nut  understand  my  love  for  my  sweet  boy,"  said 
Lcr  indignant  friend.  "It  is  no  burden,  no  care,  to  live 
and  serve  my  boy;  and  if,  some  day,  he  will  only  give 
one  sign  that  ho  recognizes  me  as  his  mother,  I  will  feel 
repaid  for  all  the  years  of  love  I  have  lavished  on  him." 
That  was  but  a  faint  image  of  the  love  of  God.  What 
are  you  going  to  do  with  this  love  of  God?  That  boy 
did  not  repay  his  mother's  love;  for,  as  Mrs.  Bottome 
says,  he  was  an  idiot  and  did  not  know  any  better.  You 
are  not  idiots.  You  know  God's  lova:  how  are  you 
going  to  repay  it? 


in 

"FOUND  WANTING  " 

"Tekel;  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found 
wanting." — Dasiel  v.  25, 

Any  one  who  loves  the  drama  should  read  the  Bible, 
for  the  Bible  is  the  most  dramatic  book  that  was  ever 
written.     There  is  nothing    to  compare    with    it    in 

Escliylus  or  Sophocles  or  Euripides  among  the  an- 
cients, or  in  Shakespeare  among  the  moderns,  in  strik- 
ing situations,  in  graphic  delineation,  and  in  startling 
denouement. 

^  One  of  the  most  intensely  interesting  and  at  the  same 
time  suggestive  scenes  in  the  Bible  is  that  described 
in  Daniel  v.— Belshazzar's  feast,  Belshazzar  was  not 
the  supreme  king  of  Babylon,  Xabonidus,  his  father, 
was  king,  and  had  associated  him  with  himself  on  the 
throne;  Belshazzar  was  second  ruler  in  the  kinj^dom. 
The  critics  used  to  tell  us  there  never  was  such  a  king 
as  Belshazzar;  but  Sir  William  Rawlinson  dug  up  a  tab- 
let from  Nabonidus  himself,  on  which  he  speaks  of  his 
son  Belsharuzzar ;  and  again  the  critics,  as  so  often 
before,  were  brought  to  grief  by  the  discoveries  of  mod- 
ern archaeology. 

But  now  Belshazzar  was  in  supreme  command  in  the 
city.  His  father  Nabonidus  had  been  shut  outside  the 
city  walls  by  the  forces  of  Cyrus.  Puffed  up  by  the 
pride  of  his  newly-gotten  power,  Belshazzar  makes  a 


>i.„.- 


"FOUND  WANTING'* 


31 


great  banquet.  The  palace  is  a  blaze  of  light.  The 
lon-j  tables  are  set  for  more  than  a  thousand  guests. 
They  are  brilliant  and  dazzling  with  plates  and  cups 
and  tankards  of  silver  and  gold,  many-jewelled,  reflect- 
ing back  the  light  from  countless  candelabra.  Re- 
clining at  the  tables  are  the  guests,  with  fingers  and 
arms  ringed  and  jewelled.  The  air  is  heavy  with  per- 
fume and  tremulous  with  the  music  of  harp  and  dulci- 
mer and  sackbut.  Between  the  tables  the  oriental  wom- 
en weave  through  the  contortions  and  distortions  of 
the  Asiatic  dance.  Back  and  forth  across  the  tables 
fly  jest  and  repartee. 

In  the  midst  of  this  hilarity  a  strange  and  daring 
conceit  enters  the  mind  of  the  royal  entertainer.  Bel- 
shazzar  whispers  to  his  chief  steward  a  secret  command. 
The  guests  are  all  agog  with  curiosity  to  know  what 
the  mj'sterious  mandate  may  be.  Their  curiosity  is 
soon  gratified;  for  the  chief  steward,  followed  by  a 
host  of  retainers,  comes  in  bearing  in  their  arms  the 
cups  of  gold  and  silver  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  car- 
ried away  from  the  temple  of  Jehovah  after  the  sack  of 
the  city  of  Jerusalem.  Bolshazzar  commands  that  the 
cups  be  filled  with  Babylonian  wine,  and  passed  from 
lip  to  lip — ^while  he  and  his  guests  sing  the  praises  of 
the  gods  of  gold  and  of  silver,  of  brass,  of  iron,  of 
wood,  and  of  stone. 

The  hilarity  becomes  more  boisterous.  Louder  and 
louder  thrum  the  instruments,  faster  and  faster  spin 
the  feet  of  the  dancers,  swifter  and  swifter  fly  jest  and 
repartee.  Suddenly  a  hush  like  death  falls  upon  the 
banqueting  hall.  One  of  the  revellers,  lifting  his  eyes 
to  the  wall,  sees  the  fingers  of  a  man's  hand  writing. 
As  he  gazes  in  wonder  he  becomes  the  centre  of  obser- 


zz 


KEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


vation,  and  all  eyes  turn  in  the  same  direction.  Not? 
the  king  turns  and  looks  also.  There,  writing  in  char- 
acters of  fire,  are  the  mysterious  fingers  of  an  armless 
hand.  Terror  freezes  Belshazzar  to  the  very  soul.  In 
the  graphic  language  of  the  prophet  Daniel,  "the  king's 
countenance  was  changed,  and  his  thoughts  troubled 
him,  so  that  the  joints  of  his  loins  were  loosed,  and  his 
knees  smote  one  against  another."  In  a  few  moments 
Belshazzar  pulls  himself  together,  and  hoarsely  ones, 
"Bring  hither  the  astrologers,  the  Chaldeans,  and  the 

soothsayers." 

In  come  the  magi  of  Babylon,  splendidly  apparelled, 
with  proud  and  stately  tread.  Expectation  rises  high  in 
their  hearts.  They  think  that  by  their  cunning  arts 
they  can  deceive  the  king,  and  gain  new  emoluments; 
but  only  for  a  moment.  The  look  of  confidence  fades 
from  their  faces.    The  writing  is  beyond  «ieir  art 

Again  terror  lays  hold  on  Belshazzar.  Again  his 
countenance  was  changed  in  him.  The  queen-mother 
hears  the  confusion.  She  walks  in  with  stately  tread, 
and  tries  to  reassure  her  royal  son.  "0  king,  live  for 
ever:  let  not  thy  thoughts  trouble  thee,  nor  let  thy 
countenance  be  changed:  there  is  a  man  in  thy  kingdom, 
in  whom  is  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods."  And  she  pro- 
ceeds to  sing  the  praises  of  Daniel.  **Let  Daniel  be 
called,  and  he  will  show  the  interpretation."  Daniel 
is  summoned.  Belshazzar  turns  to  him,  and  says,  "0 
Daniel,  I  have  heard  of  thee,  that  the  spirit  of  tho  gods 
is  in  thee,  and  that  light  and  understanding  and  ex- 
cellent wisdom  is  found  in  thee.  And  I  have  heard  of 
thee,  that  thou  canst  make  interpretations,  and  dissolve 
doubts:  now  if  thou  canst  read  the  writing,  and  make 
known  to  me  the  interpretation  thereof,  thou  shalt  be 


"FOUND  WANTING' 


33 


clothed  with  scarlet,  and  have  a  chain  of  gold  about  thy 
neck,  and  shalt  be  the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom." 

Daniel,  with  noble  pride,  scorns  the  proffered  gifts, 
'liet  thy  gifts  be  to  thyself,  and  give  thy  rewards  to 
another.  I  will  have  none  of  them;  but  I  will  read 
yonder  writing,  and  make  known  to  thee  the  interpre- 
tation." But  first  Daniel  proceeds  to  rebuke  the  blas- 
phemous daring  of  Belshazzar.  He  recalls  the  history 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  hi-  ndfather,  and  how  God  had 
humbled  his  stout-heai  >  de.  Then  he  says,  "The 
God  in  whose  hand  thy  '  -.nu  is,  and  whose  are  all  thy 
ways,  hast  thou  not  glorified  though  thou  knewest  all 
this:  then  was  the  part  of  the  hand  sent  from  Him; 
and  this  writing  was  written.  And  this  is  the  writing 
that  was  written,  Mene,  Mens,  Tekel,  Uphaesin. 
This  is  the  interpretation  of  the  thing: 

"Mene;  God  hath  numbered  thy  kingdom,  and  fin- 
ished it. 

"Tekel  ;  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art 

found  wanting. 

"Peres;  Thy  kingdom  is  divided,  and  given  to  the 
Medcs  and  Persians." 

Belshazzar  calls  for  the  royal  robe,  and  it  is  placed 
on  Daniel.  A  chain  of  gold  is  cast  about  his  neck,  and 
he  is  proclaimed  next  to  Belshazzar,  third  ruler  in  the 
kingdom.  The  royal  banquet  goes  on.  The  hilarity  in- 
creases; but,  hark!  the  tramp .  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of 
soldiers'  feet  in  the  streets  of  Babylon.  The  armies  of 
Cyrus  have  turned  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates,  and 
have  come  in  by  the  river-bed  and  the  two-leaved  gates 

of  Babylon. 

There  is  a  crashing  sound  at  the  gate.    The  guests 
look  round  for  a  place  to  flee.    But  it  is  too  late. 


34 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  up  the  palace  stairs,  with  a 
crash  and  a  rush,  the  Persian  and  Median  soldiers  come 
in.  Swords  flash  in  air  for  a  moment.  Bels=hazzar  looks 
up,  and  sees  the  sword  over  his  head.  It  falls.  Bel- 
shazzar  is  a  corpse.  "That  night  was  Bclshazzar  the 
kin^r  of  the  Chaldeans  slain."  I  call  your  attention  to 
one  word  on  the  wall: 

"Tekel;  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and 
art  found  wanting." 

In  whose  balances  was  Belshazzar  weighed?  Tlie 
balances  of  God.  Not  in  the  balances  of  his  own  esti- 
mation of  himself:  he  would  never  have  been  found 
wanting  there.  Not  in  the  balances  of  public  opinion: 
the  men  of  Babylon  would  have  said,  "Belshazzar  is  the 
greatest  of  our  statesmen,  and  the  coming  man."  Not 
in  the  balances  of  human  philosophy.  In  the  balances 
of  God. 

Every  man  and  woman  here  to-night  is  to  be  weighed 
in  the  same  balances,  the  balances  of  God.  How  much 
do  you  suppose  that  you  weigh  in  the  balances  of  God  ? 
I  do  not  ask  you  how  much  you  weigh  in  your  own 
opinion  of  yourself.  That  is  of  no  consequence,  for 
many  a  man  who  thinks  most  of  himself  is  of  least 
account  in  the  mind  of  God.  I  do  not  ask  how  much 
you  weigh  in  the  balances  of  public  opinion.  You  may 
be  a  leading  citizen  and  a  chief  magistrate,  whom  all 
delight  to  honour;  but  oftentimes  that  which  is  highly 
esteemed  among  men  is  abomination  in  the  sight  of 
God. 

How  much  do  yon  think  yon  weigh  in  the  balances  of 
God?  There  are  some  of  us  who  set  much  store  by 
our  morality,  our  culture,  and  our  refinement;  but  if 
we  knew  how  little  we  weighed  in  the  balances  of  the 


"FOUND  WANTING" 


35 


eternal  and  all  holy  God,  we  would  fall  on  our  knees 
and  cry,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner." 

Is  there  any  way  in  which  we  can  tell  how  much  we 
weigh  in  the  balances  of  God?  There  is.  God  has 
given  to  us  the  weights  wherewith  lie  weighs  us. 

Turn  to  Exodus  xx.  and  you  will  get  the  first  ten 
weights  by  which  God  weighs  men — the  well-known  Ten 
Commandments.    Let  me  read  them. 

"Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me."  What  is 
a  man's  god?  A  man's  god  is  the  thing  he  thinks  most 
of.  If  a  man  thinks  more  of  money  tlian  anything  else, 
money  is  his  god;  and  many  a  citizen  of  Edinburgh 
worships  Plutus,  the  god  of  wealth.  Many  a  man  is 
sacrificing  conscience,  eacrificing  honour,  sacrificing 
obedience  to  God,  to  gain  money.  You  do  things 
in  business  that  you  know  are  not  according  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible,  things  that  you  know  are  not 
pleasing  to  a  holy  God,  because  there  is  money  in 
them.  Gold  is  your  god,  and  you  are  found  wanting 
by  the  first  of  God's  commandments.  There  are  men 
who  worship  gold  just  as  really  as  if  they  had  a 
sovereign  hung  up  in  their  bedchamber,  and  said  their 
prayers  to  it. 

Many  worship  social  position.  How  many  are  doing 
things  in  matters  of  dress  and  in  matters  of  social  life 
that  are  disapproved  by  conscience !  But  it  is  what  so- 
ciety does;  and  they  tliink  that  if  they  do  not  do  the 
same  they  will  lose  tl/jlr  position  in  society.  You  are 
putting  society  before  God.  Society  is  your  god.  Tou 
are  weighed  and  found  wanting  by  the  first  of  God's 

laws. 

Major  Whittle  once  went,  in  Washington,  to  call  upon 
a  man  who  had  been  prominert  in  public  and  church 


36 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


life.  He  was  showing  Major  Whittle  over  his  beautiful 
new  house.  They  came  to  a  large  and  beautiful  room, 
and  Major  Whittle  asked,  "What  is  this  for?"  The 
man  was  silent  at  first.  "What  is  this  for  ?"  asked  Ma- 
jor Whittle  again.  The  man  hung  his  head,  and  said, 
"Well,  Major,  if  you  must  know,  this  is  a  ball-room." 
*^hat !  a  ball-room.  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you 
have  sunk  so  low  that  you  have  a  ball-room  in  your 
house  ?"  "Well,  Major,  I  never  thought  I  would  come 
to  this;  but  my  wifo  and  daughter  said  we  were  in  so- 
ciety now,  that  this  was  the  thing  in  Washington,  and 
that  we  must  have  it  to  keep  our  position  in  Washing- 
ton society."  Social  position  was  their  god;  and  that 
man  paid  for  it  dearly  in  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  his 
home. 

Many  a  man  worships  whisky.  How  many  a  man 
is  sacrificing  his  brain-power,  his  business  capacity,  the 
respect  of  his  fellow-citizens,  the  reverence  of  his  wife 
and  children,  in  devotion  to  the  cursed  whisky.  I  saw 
many  a  hideous  god  when  I  was  traveling  in  India,  all 
sorts  of  beastly  images  which  men  bow  down  before  and 
worship,  but  I  know  no  god  more  beastly,  no  god  more 
disgusting  than  this  god  of  whisky,  upon  the  altar  of 
which  men  are  offering  as  a  sacrifice  their  children  and 
their  interests. 

How  many  a  young  man  and  young  woman  worships 
the  god  of  pleasure.  They  are  doing  things  for  pleasure 
that  their  conscience  disapproves  of,  things  that  hinder 
communion  with  God.  They  are  sacrificing  everything 
that  they  may  have  amusement  and  pleasure.  Amuse- 
ment is  their  god.  Weighed  and  found  wanting  by  the 
first  weight  of  the  ten  commandments. 

I  have  no  time  to  dwell  upon  the  second  command: 


"FOUND  WANTING" 


37 


'"Thou  Shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image,  or 
any  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or 
that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  water  un- 
der the  earth;  thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them, 
or  serve  them,  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous  God, 
visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children 
unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate 
Me,  and  showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that 
love  Me,  and  keep  My  commandments." 

The  Third  Command— "Thon  shalt  not  take  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain;  for  the  Lord  will 
not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  iv.  vam.  — 
How  much  do  you  weigh  when  you  are  weighed  by  that 
law !    Oh,  how  many  a  man  on  your  streets  breaks  that 
law!    And  men  not  only  break  it,  but  they  think  it  a 
light  matter.    They  think  that  law  is  of  no  consequence. 
When  you  approach  men  and  speak  to    them    about 
Christ,  they  will  say,  "Well,  but  I  do  not  know  that  I 
need  Christ.    I  am  not  a  very  bad  man.    I  have  never 
stolen  anything.    I  have  never  killed  anybody.    I  have 
never  committed  adultery.    Oh,  I  do  swear  occasion- 
allv  "    They  think  it  a  light  matter,  but  God  does  not 
/e«^ard  it  so.    "Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him 
guiltless  that  taketh  His  name  in  vain." 

If  thero  is  any  sin  which  shows  that  the  very 
foundations  of  a  man's  character  are  honey-combed  and 
rotten,  it  is  the  sin  of  profanity.  You  cannot  trust  a 
profane  swearer  anywhere.  A  profane  swearer  is  ripe 
for  any  crime.  What  is  the  only  foundation  for  a  sound 
character?  Reverence  for  God;  and  when  that  is  gone 
the  foundation  of  character  is  gone.  Character  may  not 
crumble  away  at  once,  as  a  building  does  not  always 


38 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


fall  the  moment  its  foundation  is  rotten,  in  a  measure, 
but  it  will  fall.     The  foundation  is  gone.     No  man 
can  swear  profanely  until  he  has  gotten  very,  very  lov 
in  the  moral  scale.    A  man  has  to  go  down  pretty  low 
(has  he  not?)  to  speak  disrespectfully  of  his  mother. 
We  have  seen  men  go  pretty  far  into  sin,  and  yet  have 
so  much  manhood  left  that,  when  others  spoke  insult- 
ingly about  their  mother,  they  would  resent  it.    A  man 
has   fallen  very  low  who  will  speak  lightly  of  his 
mother;  but  a  man  has  got  immeasurably  lower  before 
he  will  speak  profanely  of  God.    The  purest  mother  u 
nothing  to  the  all  holy  One.    No  mother  ever  loved  a 
child,  no  mother  ever  sacrificed  for  a  child,  as  God  has 
loved  you  and  made  sacrifices  for  you ;  and  if  you  can 
take  God's  name  upon  your  lips  in  profanity  you  are 
a  vile  wretch.    I  beseech  of  you  get  on  your  face  before 
the  eternal  God  before  you  sleep,  and  ciy  to  Him  for 
mercy. 

But  there  are  other  ways  of  taking  God's  name  in 
vain  besides  profane  swearing.  Much  that  we  call  pray- 
ing is  taking  God's  name  in  vain.    Every  time  you  have 
knelt  down  to  pray  and  have  had  no  thought  of  God 
in  your  heart  while  you  take  His  name  upon  your  lips, 
you  have  taken  God's  name  in  vain.    In  the  Church  of 
England  you  go  through  those  marvelously  beautiful 
prayers  in  the  ritual,  but  when  you  do  it  as  a  mere  mat- 
ter of  form,  with  no  thought  of  God  in  your  mind,  you 
have  taken  God's  name  in  vain.    You  repeat  that  won- 
derful prayer  that  the  Master  Himself  taught     us: 
''Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy 
name.    Thy  kingdom  come.    Thy  will  be  done  in  earth 
as  It  18  done  in  heaven.     Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread;  and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those 


"FOUND  WANTING" 


3» 


that  trespass  against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into  temp- 
tation, but  deliver  us  from  evil.  For  thine  is  the  king- 
dom, and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever." 
All  tlie  time  you  recite  it  you  have  not  one  thought  what 
you  are  saying.    It  is  downright  appalling  profanity. 

The    Fourth    Command— "Remember    the    Sabbath 
day,  to  keep  it  holy.    Six  days  shalt  thou  labour,  and 
do  all  thy  work,  but  the  seventh  day"— not  the  seventh 
day  of  the  week,  as  some  men  say,  daring  to  put  into 
God's  Word  what  He  did  not  put  in,  but  the  seventh 
day  for  rest  after  six  days  of  work,  without  specifying 
which  day  of  the  wee     it  should  come.     Of  course  it 
was  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  with  the  Jew,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  old  creation ;  but  with  the  Christian 
it  is  the  first  day  of  the  week,  in  commemoration  of  the 
new  creation  through  a  Risen  Lord.    "The  seventh  day 
is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God;  in  it  thou  shalt 
not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter, 
thy  manservant,  nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy  cattle, 
nor  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates:  for  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all 
that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day;  wherefore 
the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it." 
.here  was  a  day  when  Scotchmen  kept  that  law.    It 
may  be  you  do  now;  but,  alas,  in  India  I  saw  a  thing 
that  stirred  my  blood  and  sickened  my  heart.    I  saw 
Scotchmen— not  merely  Englishmen  and  Irishmen— I 
saw  Scotchmen,  from  the  land  of  the  Covenanters,  on 
God's  holy  day,  not  in  the  house  of  God,  but  off  playing 
golf,  riding  on  their  wheels,  engaging  in  all  manner  of 
amusement.    I  do  not  know  whether  you  do  it  at  home 
or  not;  but  the  land,  the  city,  the  individual  who  for- 


40 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


gets  the  Sabbath  day  has  undermined  the  foundations 
of  God's  favour  and  its  own  prosperity. 

The  Fifth  Command — "Honour  thy  fatlier  and  ihy 
mother:  that  thy  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which 
the  Lord  th;  -^rod  giveth  thee."— I  wish  I  had  time  to 
dwell  upo-i  •     .;  for  we  are  getting  into  a  day  when 
the  young  think  they  know  more  than  their  parents, 
speaking  lightly  about  "  the  old  man"  and  "the  old 
woman."    They  think  father  and  mother  are  old  fogies, 
and  that  the  young  people  know  it  all.     They  disobey 
their  parents.     The  ''hild  who  disobeys  a  parent  will 
bring  upon  his  own  head  the  curse  of  God.    There  is 
only   one   law    superior   to   the   law   of   father    and 
mother;    and  that  is  the  law  of  God.     Even  those 
who  are  grown  up,  and  do  not  treat  the  father  and 
mother  with  the  respect  and  consideration  which  they 
should,  will  reap  what  they  sow.    God  have  mercy  upon 
the  one,  young  or  old,  who  breaks  that  commandment. 
The  Sixth  Command— "Thon  shalt  not  kill."— How 
much  do  you  weigh  by  that  law?    You  say,  "I  am  all 
right  by  that  law.    We  have  no  murderers  here."    Are 
you  absolutely  sure?      "Why,  certainly.    Where  do  you 
think  you  are  talking?    Down  in  the  Grassmarkct ?" 
No,  I  am  talking  in  the  Synod  Hall ;  but  there  are  other 
ways  of  killing  people  besides  driving  a  dagger  into 
their  heart  or  firing  a  bullet  into  their  brain.    A  hus- 
band can  kill  his  wife  by  neglect,  and  cruelty,  and  un- 
faithfulness.    How  many  a  woman  is  hastening  to  an 
early  grave,  with  a  broken  heart,  because  she  has  learned 
that  the  man  who  swore  to  be  true  to  her  is  unfaithful. 
One  day  I  was  talking  with  a  very  brilliant  man, 
who  was  under  the  influence  of  liquor.    I  said  to  him, 
"John,  you  ought  to  take  Jesus  Christ."    "Oh,"  was 


"FOUND  WANTING' 


41 


his  reply,  "you  know  I  do  not  believe  as  you  do. 
I  am  one  of  these  new  theologians.  I  have  a  broader 
theology  than  you  have.  I  am  one  of  those  believers  in 
the  eternal  hope.  You  do  not  believe  that  old-fashioned 
theology,  do  you?  Now,  honestly,  suppose  I  should 
drop  right  down  here  now,  what  would  become  of  me  ?" 
I  said,  "John,  you  would  go  straight  to  hell,  and  you 
would  deserve  to  go."  "What  have  I  done?"  "1  will  tell 
you.  You  have  got  your  wife's  heart  under  your  heel, 
and  you  are  grinding  the  life  out  of  it.  What  is  worse, 
you  are  trampling  under  foot  the  Christ  of  God,  who 
died  on  the  Cross  of  Calvary  to  save  you." 

How  many  a  son  is  killing  his  mother  by  his  wild, 
dissolute  life.  I  remember  staying  in  a  beautiful  home, 
whore  there  was  everything  that  wealth  could  buy.  One 
would  have  thought  that  the  mistress  of  that  home  must 
be  a  perfectly  happy  woman.  But  she  would  rise  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  and  walk  up  and  down  the  halls  of 
her  beautiful  home  with  a  breaking  heart.  A  few 
months  after  she  died.  Why?  She  had  a  wandering 
boy.  She  did  not  even  k-now  wlierc  he  was;  and  as  I 
stood  by  her  grave,  with  thai  wandering  boy,  who  had 
come  to  her  dying  bed,  I  thought  in  my  heart,  "Mur- 
dered by  her  wayward  son." 

Some  of  you  are  hastening  your  mother's  footsteps  to 
the  grave.  You  have  not  written  your  mother  for  six 
months.  In  Melbourne  a  man  came  rushing  down  the 
hall  and  said,  "Oh,  I  have  killed  my  mother."  He 
rushed  into  the  inquiry  room,  and  was  led  to  Christ.  Is 
there  a  man  here  who  is  killing  his  mother?  Repent, 
take  Christ;  write  to  your  mother  to-night  that  you  are 
«aved. 

There  are  other  ways  of  murdering  people.    I  do  n.- 


iZ 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


know  whether  it  is  common  in  Scotland.    I  think,  and 
I  certainly  hope,  not.    But  it  is  common  where  Scotch- 
men have  gone.     How  shall  I  describe  it?    The  most 
appalling  kind  of  murder  in  the  world.    Mothers  mur- 
dering their  own  helpless  babes,  to  escape  the  responsi- 
bility of  what  is  one  of  the  greatest  privileges  in  the 
world,  a  large  family.    If  there  is  any  hand  in  the  world 
that  is  scarlet  with  the  blood  of  murder,  it  is  that  of 
the  woman  who  murders  her  own  unborn  babe;  f^d 
there  are  men  who  call  themselves  physicians  who  will 
act  as  helpers  in  this  hellish  business.    Such  a  one  ought 
not  to  put  "M.D."  after  his  name,  but  "D.M."— damn- 
able murderer.    In  our  country  they  hang  them,  which 
IS  just.    Alas,  they  do  not  always  catch  them.    I  said 
this  in  an  Australian  city,  and  the  wife  of  a  physician 
was  verj'  indignant  about  it.    But  her  indignation  did 
not  alter  the  truth  of  what  I  said.     It  only  exposed 
a  guilty  party. 

The  Seventh   Command— "Than  shalt  not  commit 
adultery."— I  cannot  dwell  on  that.    It  needs    to    be 
dwelt  upon,  but  not  here.    Simply  let  mo  say  that  there 
IS  no  class  of  sins  upon  which  God  has  set  tho  stamp 
of  his  disapproval  in  a  plainer  way,  by  the  fearful  con- 
eequences  that  immediately  follow  the  sins  covered  by 
this  commandment.     The  woman  untrue  to  her  hus- 
band, the  husband  untrue  to  his  wife:  the  curse  of  God 
always  follows  them.    It  may  be  done  by  legal  means, 
under  the  cover  of  divorce  laws  that  controvert  God's 
laws,  but  it  does  not  Icsseu  ttic  «in.    Tlie  meanest  sc   m- 
drel  that  walks  the  earth,  the  nicanost  man  alive,  is  the 
man  who  steps  in,  under  any  circumstances,  between  a 
man  and  his  wife;  a-d  the  mranest  woman  nn  earth 
i»  the  one  who  steps  in  between  another  -voman  and 


"FOUND  WANTING" 


43 


her  husband.  Eemeraber,  furthermore,  that  our  Saviour 
interpreted  this  law  applying  not  only  to  the  overt  act, 
but  to  the  secret  thought  of  thu  heart,  when  lie  said, 
"Whoso  looketh  on  a  woman  lo  lust  after  her  hath  com- 
mitted adulter)-  with  her  already  in  his  heart." 

The  Eighth  Command— "flwxx  AmxM.  not  steal."— 
llow  much  do  you  weigh,  weighed  by  that  law?  Wait 
a  moment.  What  is  it  to  steal?  To  steal  is  to  take 
property  from  another  without  giving  an  adequate 
equivalent  in  either  prop'  rty  or  money,  ""^nr  example, 
every  man  who  sells  goods  under  false  pr,  m  ses  is  a 
thief.  The  man  who  sells  a  piece  of  clotu  as  being  "all 
wool"  when  it  is  part  cotton,  is  a  tliief.  The  man  who 
employs  labour,  and  takes  advantage  of  the  poor  man's 
necessity,  and  does  not  give  him  in  pay  a  full  equiva- 
lent for  his  labour,  is  a  thief.  Every  labouring  man 
who  does  not  give  to  his  employer,  in  good  honest  work, 
a  fair  equivalent  for  the  wages  paid  to  him,  is  a  thief. 
The  gambler  who  gambles  and  wins  is  a  thief.  Every 
time  you  bet  on  cards,  on  a  horse  race,  on  a  boat  race, 
every  time  you  invest  in  pools  or  in  a  lottery,  whether  it 
bo  a  public  lottery  or  a  church  lottery,  and  win,  you 
are  a  thief.  The  man  who  gambles  and  wins  is  a  thief; 
the  man  who  gambles  and  loses  is  a  fool.  So  every 
gambler  is  either  a  thief  or  a  fool. 

The  Ninth  Command — "Thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness  againt  thy  neighbour." — I  know  you  do  not  like 
what  I  am  saying,  but  that  does  not  alter  it ;  and  you 
will  not  escape  God  by  trying  to  forget  what  I  say.  But 
if  you  do  not  pay  attention  to  my  words,  as  far  as  they 
are  true,  they  will  rise  up  against  you  in  the  day  of 
judgment. 

How  much  do  y  u  weigh,  weighed  by  that  command- 


u 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


ment?  «WeU,"  you  say,  "I  am  all  right  by  that,  be- 
cause  I  was  never  in  court."  Does  it  say  anything  about 
court?  Every  time  you  tell  anything  about  another  that 
is  derogatory  to  them,  and  is  not  true,  you  have  broken 
this  law  of  God.  You  hear  a  story,  and  do  not  take 
pains  to  find  out  whether  it  is  true  or  not.  Perhaps 
you  add  a  bit  to  it,  and  go  on  and  tell  it,  and  it  is  not 
true.  You  have  broken  the  law  of  God.  You  say,  "I 
thought  it  was  true."  It  is  not  what  you  think :  it  is' the 
fact.  Whenever  you  hear  anything  against  a  neighbor, 
do  not  believe  it  until  it  is  proven  absolutely  to  be  true; 
and  even  when  it  is,  keep  it  to  yourself,  unless  duty 
clearly  demands  the  telling  of  it,  which  is  very  seldom. 
Some  of  you  say,  "Did  you  hear  that  awful  story 

about  Mrs. ?    I  was  awfully  sorry."    You  lie.  You 

were  glad  to  hear  it,  or  you  would  have  kept  it  to  your- 
self. The  gossip,  the  slanderer,  is  viler  than  the  vilest 
thief  that  walks  your  streets.  The  thief  only  steals 
money :  the  slanderer  steals  what  money  cannot  buy- 
reputation. 

The  Tenth  Command— "Thon  shalt  not  covet  thy 
neighbour's  house,  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's 
wife,  nor  his  manservant,  nor  his  maidservant,  nor  his 
ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  anything  that  is  thy  neighbour's."— 
God's  law  covers  not  only  the  overt  act,  but  the  covert 
thought  of  the  heart  as  well.  Many  of  you  would  not 
steal  your  neighbour's  horse,  but  you  wish  it  was  yours. 
You  would  not  run  off  with  your  neighbour's  wife,  but 
you  wish  she  were  yours.  You  would  not  rob  your 
neighbour  of  his  money,  but  you  wish  it  was  your 
money.  You  have  broken  the  law  of  God. 
How  much  do  you  weigh,  weighed  by  the  law  of  God? 
There  are  two  other  weights    heavier    than    these. 


"FOTTTO)  WANTING" 


45 


Matthew  vii.  12 :  "All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."  The  so- 
called  Golden  Rule.  How  many  talk  about  it,  and  how 
few  keep  it. 

One  day  I  was  talking  to  a  sea-captain.  I  asked  him, 
"Captain,  why  are  you  not  a  Christian?"  "The  Golden 
Rule  is  a  good  enough  religion  for  me,"  he  replied. 
"Do  you  keep  it?"  He  dropped  his  head.  He  talked 
about  it,  but  he  did  not  keep  it.  Talking  about  it  will 
not  save  you.  Do  you  do  it  ?  Mind  it  does  not  merely 
put  it  negatively,  "Do  not  do  to  others  whatsoever  ye 
would  not  that  they  should  do  to  you."  That  is  Con- 
fucianism. The  Christian  rule  is  positive.  "Do  theso 
things  to  them,"  Sell  goods  to  other  people  just  the 
way  you  want  other  people  to  sell  goods  to  you.  Talk 
about  other  people  behind  their  backs  just  as  you  want 
them  to  talk  about  you  behind  your  back.  Do  you  do 
it?  Always?    Then  you  are  weighed  and  found  wanting. 

The  heaviest  weight  of  all  is  in  Matthew  xxii.  37,  38 : 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is 
the  first  and  great  commandment."  How  much  do  you 
weigh  by  that  law?  Put  God  first  in  everything — in 
business,  in  politics,  in  social  life,  in  study,  in  every- 
thing. Do  you  do  it  ?  Have  you  always  done  it  ?  No, 
you  say,  I  have  not.  Then  you  are  weighed  and  found 
wanting,  not  only  by  breaking  a  law  of  God,  but  this  is 
"the  first  and  great  command;"  you  have  broken  the 
first  and  greatest  of  God's  laws. 

A  minister  asked  me  to  talk  to  a  young  man  who 
wanted  to  go  into  the  ministry.  He  was  a  splendid- 
looking  fellow.  When  he  came  to  me,  I  said,  **You 
want  to  go  into  the  ministry.    Are  you  a  Christian  ?** 


■"'■■w-^ 


46 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


"Why,  of  course  I  am.    I  was  brought  up  a  Christian, 
and  I  am  not  going  back  on  the  training  of  my  par- 
ents."    "Have  you  been  born  again?"    "What?"    "Jesus 
says,  'Except    a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  sec  the 
kingdom  of  God.'"     "Well,"  he  said,  "I  have  never 
heard  of  that  before."    "Did  you  know  that  you  had 
committed  the  pic-atest  sin  a  man  can  commit?"    "No, 
I  never  did."    "What  do  you  think  it  is?"    "Murder." 
"You  are  greatly  mistaken.     Let  us  see  what   God 
says."    I  turned  to  Matthew  xxii.  37,  38,  and  read: 
"Tliou  Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart^ 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.    This  is 
the   first   and   great   commandment."     "Which    com- 
mandment is  it?"  I  asked.     "The  first  and  greatest." 
"Have  you  kept  it?    Have  you  loved  God  with  all  your 
heart,  and  all  your  soul,  and  all  your  mind?    Have 
you  put  God  first  in  everything— in  business,  in  pleas- 
ure, in  social  life,  in  politics?"    "No,  sir,  I  have  not." 
"What  have  you  done  then?"    "I  have  broken  this  com- 
mandment."   "Which  commandment  is  it?"    "The  first 
and  greate.st."    "What  have  you  done  then?"    "I  have 
broken  the  first  and  greatest  of  God's  commandments. 
I  have  committed  the  greatest  sin  a  man  can  commit. 
But  I  never  saw  it  before." 

How  much  do  we  weigh,  every  one  of  us,  including 
the  preacher?  Every  one  of  us  is  weighed  and  found 
wanting.  What  shall  we  do  then?  This  is  where  the 
C.ospel  comes  in.  I  have  preached  up  to  tliis  point 
nothing  but  law.  God  has  weighed  the  whole  world  in 
the  balances  and  found  it  wanting,  and  in  Christ  He 
provided  salvation  for  a  wanting  world. 

God  sent  His  Son,  who  kept  that  law,  and  then  died 
for  you  and  me  who  have  broken  it;  and  all  you  and  T 


"FOUND  WANTING' 


47 


have  to  do  is  to  take  Christ  into  the  balances  with  ns. 
Christ  can  weigh  up  all  the  weights.  When  we  take 
Christ  into  the  balance  with  us,  then  we  are  weighed, 
and  found  not  wanting. 

Will  you  take  Josus  Christ  into  the  balances  with 
you  to-night?    Woe  to  the  man  who  is  weighed  in  the 
balances  of  God  for  the  last  time  without  having  Jesus 
Christ  with  him.    This  may  be  the  last  opportunity  for 
8ome ;  it  may  at  all  events  be  the  last  opportunity  wliich 
you  will  ever  take.    The  time  will  come  when  you  will 
be  weighed  and  found  wanting;  and  you  will  look  back 
and  say,  "Oh,  why  did  I  not  listen  to  the  prcaclier?" 
You  will  remember  this  sermon  and  the  text ;  and  you 
^'n  say,  "Oh,  if  I  only  had  improved  the  opportunity." 
>.  Moody  told  a  story  I  shall  never  forgot.    A  man 
,  set  to  watch  a  drawbridge.    He  had  orders  not  to 
n  the  draw  until  a  special  train  passed.       Boat 
after  boat  came  up  and  urged  him  to  open  the  bridge 
and  let  them  through.    "No,  I  have  my  orders  to  wait 
till  the  special  passes."    At  last  a  friend  came  up  and 
over-urged  him,  and  he  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded. 
He  threw  the  draw  open.    No  sooner  was  the  bridge 
well  open  and  the  vessels  beginning  to  enter,  than  ho 
heard  the  whistle  of  the  special.     He  sprang  to  the 
lever,  but  he  was  too  late.     The  train  came  on  with 
lightning  speed.     He  looked  on  as  it  dashed  into  the 
open  chasm,  he  heard  the  shrieks  of  the  injured  and 
saw  the  corpses  of  the  dead,  and  went  mad.    He  never 
recovered  his  senses,  but  walked  up  and  down  the  padditi 
cell  of  the  asylum,  cr}'ing,  "Oh!  if  T  only  had:  oh!  if 
I  only  had."    Had  what?    Obeyed  orders.     Men  and 
women,  reject  Christ  for  the  last  time,  and  you  will 


M 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


walk  up  and  down  the  eternal  madhouse  wringing  your 
hands,  and  saying,  "Oh!  if  I  only  had;  oh!  if  I  only 
had!"  Had  what?  Obeyed  God,  and  accepted  His  Son 
as  your  Saviour.    Will  you  do  it  now? 


rv 


THE  JUDGMENT  DAY 

"God  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent;  be- 
cause He  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  He  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  He  hath  or- 
dained ;  whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that 
He  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead." — Acts  xvii.  30,  31. 

There  are  two  events  in  the  future  which  are  absolutely 
certain.  First  of  all,  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  coming  again  to  receive  His  people  unto  him- 
self, and  to  reward  them  according  to  their  works ;  and 
in  the  second  place,  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  coming  again  to  judge  the  world.  When  I 
was  on  the  ocean  some  months  ago  a  man  asked  me  one 
night,  a3  we  were  walking  the  deck  of  the  great  steamer 
together,  "What  will  be  the  outcome  of  this  tendency 
towards  great  trusts  and  monopolies  in  business?"  And 
I  replied,  "I  do  not  know."  Men  often  come  to  me 
with  the  question,  "What  will  l  the  outcome  of  these 
great  combinations  of  laboring  men  to  resist  the  en- 
croachments of  capital?"  And  again  I  reply,  "I  don't 
know." 

But  I  will  tell  you  what  I  do  know,  and  it  is  infinite- 
ly more  important.  I  know  that  so'-'O  day  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  will  come  back  again,  and  receive  His  wait- 
ing and  faithful  people  unto  himself,  and  I  know  that 
there  is  going  to  be  a  judgment  day  for  the  world,  and 
that  judgment  day  is  the  subject  of  our  thought  to-night. 

49 


50 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


There  are  five  things  about  the  judgment  day  that  are 
set  forth  in  our  text :  first,  the  certainty  of  it ;  second- 
ly, the  universality  of  it ;  thirdly,  the  basis  of  it ;  fourth- 
ly, the  administrator  of  it ;  and,  lastly,  the  issues  of  it. 

I.  First,  the  Certainty  of  it. — It  is  absolutely  certain 
that  there  is  to  be  a  judgment  day.  "God  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day  in  which  He  will  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness." Men  who  are  living  in  sin  may  laugh  at  it ; 
they  cannot  laugh  it  away.  In  the  days  of  Noah  men 
laughed  at  Xoah's  predictions  that  there  was  to  be  a 
fiood,  but  the  flood  came  and  swept  them  all  away.  In 
the  days  of  Lot  the  men  of  Sodom  laughed  at  the  idea 
that  God  would  rain  fire  and  brimstone  out  of  heaven, 
and  destroy  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and  the  other  cities 
of  the  plam ;  but  the  fire  and  brimstone  fell,  and  these 
cities  were  blotted  out.  In  the  days  of  Jeremiah  the 
people  of  Jerusalem  laughed  at  Jeremiah's  predictions 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  would  come  and  lay  Jerusalem  in 
the  dust  and  destroy  their  temple.  But  it  all  came  to  pass 
just  as  God  said,  and  just  as  Jeremiah  believed  and 
predicted.  In  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ  men  laughed  at 
Christ's  prediction  that  the  armies  of  Rome  under  Titus 
and  Vespasian  would  lay  Jerusalem's  walls  even  with  the 
ground,  and  that  calamity  would  overtake  that  city  such 
as  the  world  had  never  seen;  but  historians  outside  the 
Bible  tell  us  that  it  all  came  to  pass  just  as  Christ  pre- 
dicted, and  that  Jerusalem  was  overtaken  with  the  most 
appalling  siege  in  the  world's  history.  All  of  God's 
predictions  about  judgment  on  individuals  and  nations 
in  the  past  have  come  true  to  the  very  letter  in  spite  of 
all  the  false  hopes  that  were  held  out  by  false  prophets. 
If  we  are  to  judge  the  future  by  the  past — and  there 
is  no  other  way  to  judge  it — God's  predictions  about 


THE  JUDGMENT  DAY 


51 


the  future  with  regard  to  judgment  upon  individuals 
and  nations  will  come  true  to  the  very  letter,  in  spite  o 
all  the  false  hopes  held  out  by  the  false  prophets-  that 
is,  by  the  "liberal  preachers"  of  the  day.    It  is  absolute- 
ly certain  that  there  is  to  be  a  judgment  day  for  the 

world.  ,    ,      .   , 

God  has  given  us  a  t;acial  guarantee  of  the  ]udg- 
ment  day,  and  that  special  guarantee  is  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  from  the  dead.  As  we  read  in  the  text, 
"God  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man 
whom  He  hath  ordained;  whereof  He  hath  given  as- 
surance unto  all  men,  in  that  He  hath  raised  Htm  from 
the  dead."    The  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead  is  an  absolutely  certain  fact  of  history.    It  is  not 
a  theological  fiction;  it  is  not  a  poet's  dream:  it  is  an 
established  fact  of  history.    If  I  had  time  to-night  to  go 
into  the  evidence,  I  could  prove  to  every  fair-mindcd, 
thinking  man  that,  beyond  question,  Jesus  Christ  rose 
from  the  dead.    Whe^we  were  in  the  city  of  Sydney 
I  was  talking  to  the  business  men  of  Sydney  and  Mem- 
bers of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  there  for  four  hours, 
to  prove  to  them  that  Christ  did  rise  from  tho  dead, 
and  many  an  Agnostic,  Deist,  Unitarian,  and  Higher 
Critic  had  his  views  utterly  shattered,  and  turned  to  the 
risen  Christ.    There  is  no  time,  however,  to-night  to  go 
into  the  evidence  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.    I 
simply  want  to  say  to  you  that  the  evidence  for  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  so  overwhelming  that  it 
is  impossible  for  any  honest  man  to  sit  down  and  thor- 
oughly sift  the  evidence,  and  come  to  any  other  conclu- 
sion than  that  Chirst  did  rise  from  the  dead. 

Years  ago  there  were  two   eminent  lawyers,  one 
named  Lyttleton  and  the  other  West.    These  two  men 


^^•Tz! 


68 


EEVIVAL  ADDEESSES 


were  Deists;  that  is,  they  had  faith  in  a  Supreme  Be- 
ing, but  did  not  believe  in  revelation,  or  in  inspiration, 
or  in  the  miraculous.    One  day  they  got  to  talking  about 
their  views,  and  finally  one  said  to  the  other,  "Well, 
we  cannot  maintain  oui  position  until  we  disprove  two 
things ;  first,  the  reputed  conversion  of  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
and  secondly,  the  reputed  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead."    Said  Ljitleton  to  West,  "I  will  write 
a  book  to  prove  that  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  never  convert- 
ed in  the  way  which  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  record." 
And  said  West  to  Lyttleton,  "I  will  write  a  book  to 
prove  that  Jesus  Christ  did  not  rise  from  the  dead  as 
the  evangelists  say."    Well,  they  wrote  their  books,  and 
when   they  met  afterwards.  West  said  to  Lyttleton, 
"How  have  you  got  on?"    "I  have  written  my  book," 
said  Lyttleton,  'Tbut  as  I  have  studied  the  evidence  from 
a  legal  standpoint,  I  have  become  convinced  that  Saul 
of  Tarsus  was  converted  in  just  the  way  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  say  he  was,  and  I  have  become  a  Christian. 
How  have  you  got  on  .5"    "Well,"  said  West,  "I  have 
sifted  the  evidence  for  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  legal  standpoint,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  was  raised  from  the  dead  just  as  Matthew, 
Mark,  Luke,  and  John  record,  and  I  have  written  my 
book  in  defence  of  Christianity."    And  these  two  books 
can  be  seen  in  our  libraries  to-day.     It  is  absolutely 
impossible  for  any  man  with  a  legal  mind,  and  accus- 
tomed to  feift  evidence,  to  sit  down  and  thorouglily  in- 
vestigate the  evidence  for  the  resurrection  of  Je.us 
Christ,  and  come  to  any  other  conclusion  than  that 
Jesus  of  Xaaareth  rose  from  the  dead.    Well,  that  res- 
urrection of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  guarantee  that 
a  judgment  day  is  coming.    When  Jesus  Christ  came 


THE  JUDGMENT  DAY 


S3 


upon  the  earth,  He  claimed  in  John  v.  22,  23,  "The 
Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judg- 
ment unto  the  Son;  that  all  men  should  honor  the  Son, 
even  as  they  honor  the  Father.    He  that  honoreth  not 
the  Son  honoreth  not  the  Father  which  hath  sent  Him.' 
He  claimed  that  there  was  a  judgment  day  coming  and 
that  He  was  to  be  the  Judge.    Men  hated  him  for  mak- 
ing the  claim,  and  the  other  claim  involved  in  it,  the 
claim  of  Deitv.    They  put  Him  to  death  for  making 
this  claim,  but  before  they  put  Him  to  death  Ho  said, 
"My  Father  will  set  His  seal  to  the  claim  for  which  you 
put  Me  to  death."    And  when  the  third  day  came,  the 
breath  of  God  swept  through  the  sleeping  clay,  and  God, 
by  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  set  his  seal  to  Christ's 
claims,  and  said  in  accents  that  cannot  be  mistaken  and 
that  are  a  message  to  all  ages,  "There  is  a  judgment  day 
coming."        The  indisputable  resurrection     of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  past  points  with  unerring  finger  to  a 
certain  judgment  in  the  future.    If  there  is  any  man 
here  to-night  that  flatters  himself  that  there  is  to  be  no 
judgment  day;   if  there  is  any  man  here  that  fancies 
that  he  can  go  on  in  sin,  and  never  be  called  to  ac- 
count for  it ;  if  there  is  any  man  here  that  believes  he 
can  go  on  trampling  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and 
not  have  to  suffer  for  it,  oh,  man,  throw  that  hope 
away  to-night,  for  it  is  baseless.    It  is  absolutely  cer- 
tain that  there  will  be  a  day  in  which  Jesus  Christ 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness. 

n.  The  Universality  of  the  Judgment.— In  the  sec- 
ond place  please  note  the  universality  of  the  judgment 
day.  "God  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  He  will 
jud«re  the  world."  It  will  be  no  class  judgment;  every 
man  and  woman  on  the  face  of  this  earth  will  have  to 


54 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


face  the  Judge  in  that  day.  Of  course  all  who  are  Chris- 
tians,  all  who  have  accepted  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  and 
surrendered  to  Him  as  their  Lord,  will  have  been  caught 
up  to  meet  Him  in  the  air.    But  all  the  rest  will  have 
to  face  the  Judge  in  that  day.     There  will  be  no  es- 
caping that  day.     Men  often  escape  human  courts. 
There  is  many  a  thief  that  has  never  been  arrested, 
there  is  many  a  murderer  that  remains  unhung;  but 
when  God  sends  forth  His  officers  to  gather  the  people 
for  that  judgment  day,  they  will  have  to  come,     id 
they  will  have  to  stay  right  there  until  their  case  :     et- 
tled.    Men  have  often  escaped  me  when  I  am  prea.  ling. 
When  the  preaching  becomes  too  pointed,  they  get  up 
and  go  out,  and  thus  they  escape  me.    You  can't  escape 
God  that  way.    You  will  have  to  come  there,  and  you 
will  have  to  stay  there  until  your  case  is  decided.    He 
is  going  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness.    How  you 
would  rejoice  if  every  iniidel  in  London  were  at  this 
meeting  to-nig-    .    But  most  infidels  would  not  dare  to 
come  to  this  meeting.    But  there  will  be  a  meeting  that 
every  infidel  will  be  at.    There  will  be  one  meeting  that 
every  hypocritical  church  member  will  be  at.     There 
will  be  a  meeting  where  every  unpenitent  sinner  will 
be  present— the  meeting  with  Jesus  Christ  at  the  judg- 
ment bar  of  God.     That  man  who  is  sitting  in  this 
meeting  to-night  trying  to  make  light  of  everything  I 
am  saying— you  will  be  at  that  meeting,  and  you  will 
not  make  light  of  it ;  you  will  be  there  face  to  face  with 
Jesus  Christ.    That  woman  who  has  come  to  this  meet- 
ing to-night  for  any  purpose  but  a  good  one,  you  will 
meet  Christ  there  at  the  judgment  bar  of  God. 

III.   The  Basis  of  the  Judgment — ^In  the  third  place 
note  the  basis  of  judgment. 


THE  JUDGMENT  DAY 


66 


1.    "The  deedB  done  in  the  bocly."    In  2  Corinthians, 
chapter  v.,  verse  10,  are  the  words,  "For  we  must  all  ap- 
pear before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ;  that  every  one 
may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body  according  to 
that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."    The 
deeds  done  in  the  body  arc  the  basis  of  that  judgment. 
There  are  preachers  who  tell  us  that  a  man  can  die  m 
Bin   and  after  he  is  dead  can  have  another  probation, 
another  chance  to  repent,  that  he  may  repent  after  his 
death  and  turn  to  God  and  be  saved.    The  Old  Book 
does  not  hold  out  any  such  hope.    That  kind  of  teaching 
contradicts  the  plain  teaching  of  the  Word  of  God, 
which  says  distinctly  that  "the  deeds  done  in  the  body, 
in  the  life  that  now  is,  are  to  determine  the  issues  of 

Eternity.  ,      ,  , 

That  man  to-night  who  is  living  in  drunkenness,  who 
is  squandering  his  time,  squandering  his  money,  squan- 
dering his  manhood  in  a  life  of  dissipation;  you  will 
have  to  answer  for  in  that  day.    That  woman  to-night 
who  is  living  a  life  of  frivolity  and  pleasure  instead  of 
living  for  the  God  who  made  her,  and  the  Christ  who 
died  for  her;  you  vrill  have  to  answer  for  it  in  that  day. 
That  man  here  who  professes  to  be  a  Christian  but  lives 
like  the  world;  you  will  have  to  answer  for  it  in  that 
day.       That  man  who  has  made  gold  his  god,  over- 
reaching his  neighbour  in  business,  oppressing  his  em- 
ployee, turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cry  of  the  widow  and 
orphan ;  you  will  have  to  answer  for  it  in  that  day. 
That  man  who  knows  the  truth,  but  will  not  heed  it 
because  it  will  hurt  him  in  business  or  politics ;  you  will 
have  to  answer  for  it  in  that  day.    That  man  who  is  a  lib- 
ertine, living  in  lust,  living  like  a  beast,  scattering  rum 
wherever  he  goes;  you  will  have  to  answer  for  li 


that 


M 


BEVn  AL  ADDRESSES 


day.  The  deeds  done  in  the  body— they  will  all  come 
up,  things  that  have  been  forgotten  for  yeara.  There  is 
a  man  here  who  years  ago  ud  a  buse,  nefarious  deed, 
and  to-night  he  is  very  coraiortable  in  thf  thought  that 
no  one  on  earth  knows  of  it.  Man,  the  whole  world  will 
know  about  it  in  that  day  unless  you  repent,  and  Jesua 
Christ  will  know  about  it  and  will  pass  judgmont 
upon  it.  There  is  a  woman  here  to-night  who  has  a  very 
black  page  in  her  past  history,  but  of  late  years  bIic  haa 
been  very  comfortable  over  that  black  page.  No  one 
now  knows  anything  about  it ;  it  is  all  forgotten ;  there 
is  no  one  to  bring  it  up.  T  le  whole  world  will  know 
about  it  in  that  day  unless  you  repent  and  turn  to 
Christ. 

2.  "The  secret  things"  will  be  judged.  In  Romans  ii. 
16,  we  read:  "In  the  day  when  God  shall  judge  the  - 
crets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ."  The  secret  things,  tlie 
things  Hone  in  the  dark,  the  things  done  under  the 
cover  of  night,  the  things  that  nobody  saw  but  God; 
all  will  be  brought  to  light  on  that  d;iy. 

I  remember  hearing  years  ago  of  an  incident  that 
happened  here,  in  your  own  count  ..  A  ^voman  had 
killed  her  husband  by  driving  a  nail  .ii?o  his  skull,  id 
so  successfully  'id  she  covered  up  tn^  wound  t  at 
he  was  buried  wiuiout  any  suspioi  I  .'ing  ca4  upoTi 
her.  After  several  years  the  maii  flattercM:  hersei- 
that  she  would  nc  r  be  found  out.  Jne  da}  wever, 
the  grave-digger  was  at  work  in  he  cf^^  «terv,  and 
threw  up  this  man's  skull,  and  th.  ^  he  =.  th 
I  do  not  know  that  he  suspected  the 
it  to  her  and  said,  "Look  there." 


he  =. 
man,  . 

thrr 


tu 


hands  and  crifd,  "My  God!    Found  out 
will  all  be  found  out  at  la^t,  the    secret 


nail, 
k 
>er 
It 
the 


THE  JUL)   MEN"    JAV 


57 


ou 


iKC 


.vho 


thougUis  ard  imagination  A  th  eart.  )h,  you  men 
who  are  bo;>  ting  of  our  moraliti,  how  \  nld  you  like 
•  have  thf  thoug  ii.^  and  acies  and  de  "8  and  the 
juiaginaTion-  of  the  last  i  wenty-four  h>\in  photo- 
gx-aphed  anu  chr-  ^  i  upon  a  .  crcen  before  this  audience 
to-night  r  The  v.aoe  world  will  see  those  secret  things 
in  that  day,  not  those  of  twenty-four  hours  only,  but 
tho?v.  of  a  lifttinu.',  unless  you  repent.  You,  mada' 
who  iiave  boasted  of  your  purity  and  y(  '•  nobilit}  of 
character  above  others,  and  fancied  that  you  gh- 
be  saved  h  au^e  of  %  'ir  goodness;  how  would 
to  have  the  hi.ldea  \  gs  of  the  chambers  of 
and  imagination  and  sire  photographed  and 
on  ?crcen  before  all  this  audience?  But 
wofi.  will  etc  it  in  that  day,  unless  you  repei 
frot  t  flings  W'U  all  come  to  light. 

3.  T'  -  Lord  tells  us  again  that  the    '"    ^  o.     idg- 
men*   «    I  b.    ->ur  words.    In  Matthew  >6  i  read, 

"But  1  lOto  you  that  every  idle  word  laai  men  shall 

speak,  t\.,'\  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of 
judgment."  Our  careless,  thoughtless,  n  ^udi* d  words 
reveal  what  we  are  at  heart.  Our  st  idi  peeches  do 
not  reveal  what  we  are,  but  what  wo  lu  like  to  b; 
but  our  idlo  words,  that  we  drop  acciuentally,  they  are 
the  best  revelation  of  what  there  is  in  our  hearts.  Your 
impure  words,  your  unkind  words,  your  harsii  words, 
your  words  of  gossip  and  slander ;  you  will  give  acrouat 
thereof. 

On  one  occasion,  at  a  servicp  in  Minneafwlis,  one  of 
my  workers  came  to  me  and  -aid,  •  R^re  is  an  infidel; 
will  you  come  and  epeak  to  m?"  went  to  him,  and 
in  reply  to  my  question,  he  said,  'Tes,  I  am  an  ir  fidel." 
I  said,  "Why  are  you  an  infidel?"    He  replied,  "B©- 


K 


88 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


cause  the  Bible  is  full  of  contradictions."  "Full  of  con- 
tradictions ?"  I  said.  "Yes,"  he  said.  "Will  you  please 
show  me  one?"  1  asked.  "Oh,"  said  he,  "it  is  full  of 
them."  "Well,  "  I  said,  "if  there  are  so  many  you  ought 
to  be  able  to  show  me  one."  "Oh,  it  is  just  full  of 
them,"  he  said.  "Well,"  I  insisted,  "please  show  me 
one."  Then  he  replied,  "Well,  I  don't  pretend  to  know 
as  much  about  the  Bible  as  you  do."  I  said,  "Then 
what  are  you  talking  about  it  for  in  this  way?"  Then 
I  looked  him  right  square  in  the  eye  and  I  told  him  what 
Jesus  said  of  the  idle  words  that  men  speak.  "Now," 
I  said,  "this  is  God's  Word.  God  is  the  author  of  this 
book,  and  you  lightly  and  thoughtlessly  have  been  slan- 
dering the  Word  of  God,  and  thus  you  have  been  slan- 
dering God,  the  author  of  it.  I  want  to  say  to  you, 
sir,  that  you  will  have  to  give  account  of  your  words  in 
the  day  of  judgment."  The  man  turned  pale,  and  well 
he  might.  I  want  to  say  to  you  men  to-night  that  are 
pulling  the  Word  of  God  to  pieces  because  you  have 
been  told  that  some  German  scholar  says  so  and  so;  you 
men  that  dare  to  criticise  the  book  you  don't  know 
anything  about;  you  men  that  are  taking  up  the  idle 
talk  of  newspapers  and  reviews  and  retailing  it,  slan- 
dering God's  Word  and  God,  the  author  of  it;  you  will 
have  to  give  an  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment. 
Well  may  you  tremble.  I  want  to  say  to  you  men 
who  have  taken  the  name  of  the  glorious  Son  of  God, 
in  whom  dwells  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,  lightly 
on  your  lips,  and  have  been  saying  flipptuitly,  "I  don't 
believe  that  Jesus  is  divine,  I  dou't  U'lieve  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God;"  you  men  wlio  have  been  robbing 
the  glorious  Son  of  God  of  what  is  His  due,  vou  will 
have  to  give  an  account  of  this  in  the  day  of  judgment. 


TTIK  JFDCMK.NT  DAY 


59 


4.  But  the  great  basis  of  the  judgment  day  will  be 
what  we  do  with  Jesus  Christ.    We  are  told  in  John 
iii.  18  19,  "He  that  believcth  in  him  is  not  condemned ; 
but  he  that  belicveth  not  is  condemned  already,  be- 
cause he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  ot  God."    God  has  sent  one  down  into  this 
world  to  be  our  Saviour.   IT«;  has  sent  His  only  Son.    The 
rejection  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  whom  God 
has  appointed  to  be  our  Saviour,  our  King  und  our  Lord, 
is  the  most  daring  and  damning  of  all  sins.    Light  baa 
been  sent  into  the  world  and  men  have  loved  darkness 
rather  than  light  because  their  deeds  are  evil.    There 
is  nothing  that  reveals  what  is  in  the  human  heart  so 
clearly  as  what  a  man  does  with  Christ.    Christ  is  God 
incarnate,  the  light  of  God  come  into  the  world,  and 
the  rejection  of  Jesus  Christ  proves  a  wicked  heart. 
The  great  question  in  the  judgment  day  will  be,  "What 
did  you  do  with  Jesus  Christ?"    Oh,  I  can  imagine 
some  people  in  that  day.    That  mf».n  who  sits  in  yonder 
gallery  trying  to  make  light  oi  what  I  am  saying  to- 
night, he  will  be  there;  I  see  him  standing  before  the 
judgment  bar,  and  the  throng  falls  back,  there  is  pro- 
found silence.    Then  comes  rolling  forth,  like  the  sound 
of  many  waters,  the  majestic  voice  of  the  Judge,  "What 
did  you  do  with  Jesus  Christ?" 

IV.  The  Judge. — We  now  come  to  the  fourth  point. 
Who  is  to  be  the  judge  in  that  day?  Jesus  Christ  him- 
eelf.  "God  hath  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  He  will 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  Man  whom  He 
hath  ordained ;  whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  unto 
all  men  in  that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead." 
Jesus  Christ  is  to  be  the  Judge.  That  same  Christ  whom 
you  are  rejecting  is  to  be  the  Judge.    That  same  Christ 


K 


60 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


whom  you  are  robbing  of  the  honor  which  is  His  due 
is  to  be  the  Judge.  That  same  Christ  whose  divinity 
you  are  denying,  not  that  you  have  any  reason  for  de- 
nying it,  but  simply  you  don't  want  to  have  to  believe 
it,  and  want  comfort  in  your  sin — that  same  Christ 
whom  you  are  trampling  under  foot  will  sit  as  Judge 
in  that  day.  That  will  be  a  very  dark  day  for  some 
people.  It  will  be  a  dark  day  for  Annas  and  Caiaphas, 
who  robbed  Jesus  of  every  form  of  justice.  Now 
they  stand  before  the  bar,  and  Christ  sits  upon  the 
throne.  I  can  imagine  Pontius  Pilate  in  that  day, 
who  knew  that  Jesus  Christ  was  innocent,  and  yet 
condemned  Him  to  appease  the  Jewish  mob.  Pilate 
will  stand  at  the  bar,  and  the  Christ  he  so  basely 
wronged  will  be  on  the  throne.  :  can  imagine  the 
soldiers  who  spat  upon  Him,  and  mocked  Him,  and 
crowned  Him  with  thorns.  The  Christ  they  spat  upon, 
buffeted  and  crowned  with  thorns,  sits  upon  the  throne 
and  they  stand  at  the  judgment  bar.  I  can  imagine 
Judas  Iscanat,  who  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver  sold  his 
Master  after  three  years  of  close  association  with  Him ; 
now  he  stands  before  the  bar,  and  the  Christ  he  be- 
trayed sits  upon  the  throne.  I  can  imagine  that  man 
and  woman  in  this  audience  to-night  who  have 
been  telling  their  friends  that  they  do  not  believe  that 
Jesus  is  divine,  who  have  been  trampling  the  Son  of 
God  under  foot,  who  have  been  resisting  the  invitations 
of  mercy  it  may  be  for  years;  you  stand  before  the 
throne,  and  the  Christ  whom  you  have  defamed,  slan- 
dered, rejected  and  trampled  under  foot,  sits  as  Judge. 
V.  The  Issues  of  the  Judgment  Day. — Once  more, 
please  notice  the  issues  of  the  judgment  day.  They 
will  be  eternal.    They  will  be  either  eternal  joy  and 


THE  JUDGMENT  DAY 


61 


life  and  glory,  or  eternal  death,  eternal  darkness,  eter- 
nal despair  and  eternal  shame.  Oh!  men  and  women, 
I  would  that  I  had  it  in  my  power  to-night  so  to  pic- 
ture to  you  that  great  judgment  day  that  every  man  and 
woman  in  this  audience  would  go  out  from  here  with 
the  judgment  day  of  Christ  before  them  as  a  great 
reality ;  but  it  surpasses  my  power.  There  is  the  judg- 
ment throne;  its  blazing  glory,  its  overwhelming  splen- 
dor, I  cannot  describe.  There  is  the  Christ  upon  the 
throne,  His  face  shining  with  a  glory  above  the  glory  of 
the  noonday  sun.  His  eyes  like  flames  of  fire  piercing 
men  through  and  through.  And  there  you  stand  before 
that  awful  judgment  bar,  the  eyes  of  Christ  upon  you 
like  a  flame  of  fire,  piercing  you  through  and  through, 
your  whole  life  laid  bare  and  your  secret  thoughts 
revealed. 

Oh,  men  and  women,  repent,  repent,  REPENT  I 
"God  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent, 
because  He  hath  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  He  will 
juao  ;he  world  in  righteousness  by  that  Man  whom 
H^  Ua  1  ordained;  whereof  He  hath  given  assurance 
univ;  ill  men  in  that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the 
dead." 

Repent,  repent,  REPENT  I 


EVEEY  MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  REFUGE 


"And  a  man  shall  be  as  an  hiding-place  from  the  wind  and 
a  covert  from  the  tempest;  as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place; 
as  ihe  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land." — Isaiah 
xzxii.  2. 


I  have  a  very  precious  Old  Testament  text  to-night — 
I  love  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  full  of  Christ — Isaiah 
xxxii.  2 :  "And  a  man  shall  be  as  an  hiding-place  from 
the  wind  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest;  as  rivers  of 
water  in  a  dry  place ;  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a 
weary  land." 

A  good  many  years  ago  I  was  traveling  on  the  con- 
tinent visiting  some  of  the  art  galleries  of  Germany, 
and  I  saw  a  picture  in  the  new  art  gallery  in  Munich 
that  made  a  very  deep  impression  on  my  mind.  It  rep- 
resented the  approach  of  a  storm;  the  thunder  clouds 
were  rolling  up  thick  and  ominous;  the  trees  were 
bending  before  the  first  approach  of  the  oncoming  tem- 
pest. Horses  and  cattle  were  scurrying  across  the  fields 
in  fright,  and  a  little  company  of  men,  women  and 
children,  with  bowed  forms,  blanched  faces,  and  terror 
depicted  in  every  look  and  action,  were  running  before 
the  storm  in  search  of  a  hiding-place.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose it  was  the  artist's  intention,  but  it  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  this  picture  was  an  accurate  repre- 
sentation of  every  human  life.    Every  man  and  woman 


EVERY  MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  REFUGE       63 

needs  a  hiding-place.    You  say  a  hiding-place  from 
what?     A  hiding-place  from  four  things. 

I.  A  Hiding-place  needed  from  an  accusing  Con- 
science.—First  of  all,  every  one  of  us  needs  a  hiding- 
place  from  the  accusations  of  our  own  conscience.  Every 
man  and  woman  here  to-night  has  a  conscience,  and 
every  man  and  woman  here  to-night  has  sinned  against 
their  own  conscience.  There  is  no  torment  like  the 
torment  of  an  accusing  conscience.  We  do  not  have  to 
go  to  the  Word  of  God  to  find  that  out.  We  find  it  m 
heathen  literature  as  well.  It  was  not  a  Christian  poet, 
hut  a  heathen  of  about  the  time  of  Christ,  the  Latin 
poet  Juvenal,  who  said: 

"Trust  me,  no  torture  that  the  poets  feign 
Can  match  the  fierce,  unutterable  pam 
He  feels,  who,  night  and  day,  devoid  of  re«t, 
Carries  his  own  accuser  in  his  breast. 

It  was  another  heathen  poet,  though  he  lived  in  a 
Christian  land,  the  poet  Lord  Byron,  who  wrote: 

"Thus  the  dark  in  soul  expire 
Or  live  like  scorpion,  girt  with  fire. 
Thus  writhes  the  soul  remorse  hath  riven. 
Unfit  for  earth,  undooraed  for  heaven; 
Darkness  above,  despair  beneath,  ^^ 

Around  him  gloom,  within  him  death. 

But  we  do  not  need  to  go  to  the  poets  to  find  out 
the  torments  of  an  accusing  conscience.   Wc  find  them 
round  about  us  every  day  in  actual  life  and  experience 
One  night  at  the  close  of  a  service,  at  the  church  of  which 
I  am  now  pastor  in  Chicago,  there  came  to  me  a  woman 
with  a  haunted  face  and  said,  "I  would  liko  to  see  you 
in  private."  I  replied,  "If  you  will  come  to  my  office  to- 
morrow at  2  p.m.,  I  will  have  the  pastor  there;  and 
if  you  have  anvthing  to  eay  we  shall  be  glad  to  listen. 


^1- 


64 


KEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


The  next  day  at  2  o'clock  the  woman  came  to  my  office, 
and  Mr.  Hyde,  the  pastor,  was  present,  and  I  said  to 
the  woman,  "Now  what  is  the  trouble?"  She  made  an 
effort  to  speak,  and  failed.  Again  I  said,  "What  is  the 
trouble?"  Now  she  made  an  effort,  and  again  failed. 
For  the  third  time  I  said,  "What  is  the  trouble?  We 
cannot  help  you  unless  you  tell  us  your  trouble."  Then 
she  gasped  out,  "I  have  killed  a  man.  It  was  fourteen 
years  ago,  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  in  the  Old  Coun- 
try, in  the  darkness  of  a  forest,  I  drove  a  dagger  into 
a  man's  throat,  and  dropped  the  dagger  and  ran  away. 
He  was  found  in  the  forest  with  the  dagger  by  his 
side.  Nobody  suspected  me,  but  everybody  thought  he 
had  committed  suicide.  I  stayed  there  two  years,  and 
nobody  ever  suspected  me;  but  I  knew  I  had  done  it, 
and  was  wretched,  and  at  last  I  came  to  America  to 
see  if  I  could  find  peace  here.  First  I  went  to  New 
York  and  then  came  to  Chicago,  and  I  have  been  here 
twelve  years,  but  have  not  found  peace.  I  often  go  to 
the  lake,  and  stand  on  the  pier  and  look  into  the  dark 
waters  beneath,  and  I  would  jump  in  if  I  were  not 
afraid  of  what  may  lie  beyond  death."  Haunted  and 
hunted  by  her  own  conscience  for  fourteen  years !  Hell 
on  earth !  Well,  some  one  says,  I  can  very  readily  see 
how  a  person  who  has  committed  so  awful  a  deed  as 
that,  staining  her  hands  with  human  blood,  should  be 
haunted  by  her  conscience.  But  I  have  never  done  a 
thing  like  that.  That  mny  be,  but  you  have  sinned; 
and  when  conscience  points  at  us  the  finger  of  accusa- 
tion, we  do  not  so  much  balance  up  the  greatnoss  or 
the  smallness  of  our  sin.  But  you  say,  "My  con- 
science does  not  trouble  mo."  That  may  be,  for  it  is  a 
weli-known  psychological  fact  that  conscience  some- 


EVERY  MAX'S  NEED  OF  A  REFUGE       C5 

times  sleeps;  but  conscience  never  dies.     The  day  is 
coming  when  that  sleeping  conscience    of    yours    will 
awaken,  and  your  conscience  will  point  at  you  the  fin- 
ger of  accusation,  and  woe  be  to  the  man  whose  con- 
science wakes  up,  who  has  no  hiding  place  from  his 
own  conscience.    In  the  city  of  Toronto  years  ago  there 
was  a  young  girl  who  had  drifted  there  from  the  coun- 
try.   She  had  heard  of  the  gaieties  of  the  place,  and  had 
left  her  home  and  come  there  for  a  life  of  pleasure, 
going  to  theatres  and  dances  and  amusements  of  that 
sort,  and  like  many  another  that  goes  to  the  great  city 
with  the  same  object,  she  was  caught  in  the  maelstrom 
of  the  city's  sin,  and  had  gone  down,  down,  down  into 
a  life  of  shame.    Her  conscience  did  not  trouble  her; 
but  one  nigbt  the  Fiske  Jubilee  Singers  were  singing 
in  Toronto,  and  some  friends  asked  the  girl  to  go  and 
hear  them,  and  she  did.    At  last  they  came  to  that 
hymn  with  the  weird  refrain: 

"My  mother  once,  my  mother  twice, 
My  mother  she'll  rejoice; 
In  heaven  once,  in  heaven  twice, 
My  mother  she'll  rejoice.' 

The  poor  girl  was  sitting  up  in  the  gallery,  and  as 
she  heard  the  strains  of  that  chorus  floating  up  to 
her  all  the  memory  of  her  childhood  came  back;  she 
was'  a  child,  and  at  home  again,  in  the  old  home  It 
was  evening;  the  lamp  stood  upon  the  table  and  her 
sweet-faced  mother  sat  there  with  open  Bible  on  her 
lap  and  she  a  Uttle  girl  of  four,  with  golden  hair, 
was'  kneeling  at  her  mother's  knee,  learning  to  pray. 


66 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


It  all  came  back  again  to  her. 
Singers  came  to  that  refrain*. 


Again  the  Jubilee 


"My  mother  once,  my  mother  twic«, 
My  mother  she'll  rejoice; 
In  heaven  once,  in  heaven  twice. 
My  mother  she'll  rejoice." 

And  as  those  words  came  floating  up  again,  the  hot 
blood  came  to  the  girl's  cheeks,  she  sprang  to  her  feet, 
and  rushed  down  the  stairs  out  into  the  streets  of  the 
great  city.  On,  on,  on,  as  fast  as  her  feet,  now  growing 
weary,  could  take  her,  out  beyond  the  gaslights  into 
the  country;  and  next  morning,  when  a  certain  farmer 
came  to  his  farm-house  door,  there  was  ;he  poor  girl, 
clutching  the  threshold,  dead  I  Hunted  to  death  by  her 
own  conscience. 

Oh,  there  are  men  and  women  here  to-night  whose 
consciences  are  asleep,  but  whose  consciences  will  some 
day  awaken,  and  woe  be  to  the  man  or  woman  whose 
conscience  wakes  up  and  who  has  no  hiding  ace 
from  it. 

II.  A  Hiding-Place  needed  from  the  Power  of  Sin 
within  Ourselves. — In  the  second  place,  we  need  a  hid- 
ing-place from  the  power  of  sin  within  ourselves.  Now 
every  man  and  woman  here  to-night  who  know  them- 
selves at  all  well  know  that  there  are  powers  of  evil  resi- 
dent within  themselves  which  are  more  than  they  can 
master  in  their  own  strength.  If  there  is  any  man  or 
woman  who  thinks  they  have  a  complete  mastery  over 
themselves,  if  there  is  any  man  who  thinks  he  has 
power  to  break  away  in  his  own  strength  from  the  sin 
that  is  within,  he  is  a  sadly  deceived  man.  There  are 
some  people  here  to-night  with  the  overmastering  appe- 
tite for  strong  drink.  There  are  others  who  do  not  care 


EVERY  MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  REFUGE       67 

for  it  at  all,  but  are  enslaved  by  other  Bins.     Others 
have  a  passion  for  gambling.    Others  care  for  neither 
of  these,  but  have  a  love  for  other  things.    With  an- 
other it  is  an  ungovernable  temper;  with  others  it  is 
a  sharp,  unkind,  censorious  tongue.    With  some  it  is 
one  thing  and  with  some  another.    But  with  every  man 
and  woman  of  us  within  these  four  walls  there  is  the 
power  of  sin  within  ourselves,  which  is  more  than  we 
can  master  in  our  own  strength.  We  need  a  hiding-place 
from  the  power  of  sin  within. 

I  remember  one  night  a  young  man  came  to  me  at 
the  close  of  a  meeting  like  this,  in  Minneapolis,  in 
America,  and  he  said,  "I  heard  you  speaking  in  the 
street  to-night,  and  I  said  to  myself,  'that  man  can 
help  me,'  and  I  have  come  here  and  stayed  through  the 
service    Will  you  now  help  me?"   I  said  I  would  be 
ver>'  glad  to  do  so  if  I  could.  He  said:  "Listen;  I  was 
employed  down  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I  got  to  leading 
a  fast  life.   Now,"  he  said,  "you  know  that  a  fast  life 
costs  money.    It  cost  more  than  I  earned,  and  I  put 
my  hand  into  my  employer's  money-till  and  took  his 
money     Of  course  I  was  caught,  but  my  employer  waa 
a  good  man.    He  might  have  sent  me  to  prison;  in- 
stead of  that,  he  said,  'You  must  go  to  the  Northwest. 
It  is  a  new  countrv ;  begin  life  anew  up  there.     They 
sent  me  here,  and  I  have  now  got  a  good  position,  as 
you  see  bv  my  uniforr-,"  and  he  pointed  to  it.      But 
he  said,  "I  am.  going  just  the  same  way  in  Minneapolis 
that  I  went  in  Pennsylvania.    I  am  afraid  to  leave  this 
hall  to-night.  Before  I  got  a  block  from  this  hall,  I  shall 
meet  some  one  who  knows  me,  and  just  as  sure  as  I 

do  I  am  lost."  _       ,    .  .v  • 

You  mav  have  no  weakness  in  the  direction  that  this 


SS^^i'Y    ^f^lie^ii^' 


68 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


3'oung  man  had,  and  again  you  may  have;  but  every 
man  and  woman  here  has  the  power  of  sin  within  that 
is  more  than  they  can  master  in  their  own  strength. 
We  need  a  hiding-place  from  the  power  of  sin  within. 
III.  A  Hiding-Place  needed  from  the  Power  of  the 
Devil. — In  the  third  place,  we  need  a  hiding-place  from 
the  power  of  the  devil.  Over  in  our  country  there  are 
a  great  many  people  who  are  too  wise  to  believe  in  the 
existence  of  a  personal  devil.  I  believe  in  the  existence 
of  a  personal  devil.  I  will  tell  you  why.  In  the  first 
place,  because  the  Old  Book  says  so,  and  I  have  found 
that  the  man  who  believes  .n  the  Bible  always  comes 
out  ahead  in  the  long  run,  and  that  the  man  who  is  too 
wise  and  too  advanced  to  believe  the  Word  of  God  comes 
out  behind,  in  the  long  run,  every  time.  Now,  there 
was  a  time  when  I  was  so  wise  that  I  believed  so  much 
of  the  Bible  as  was  wise  enough  to  agree  with  me.  Thank 
God,  that  time  has  passed.  Thank  God,  he  has  opened 
my  eyes  and  cars  until  I  have  come  to  the  place  where 
I  know — I  wish  I  had  time  to  tell  you  how  I  know — 
that  that  Book,  from  the  first  chapter  to  the  last,  is 
the  very  Word  of  God.  Now  this  Book  teaches  us  that 
there  is  a  personal  devil.  Turn  to  1  St.  Peter  v.  8 :  "Be- 
cause your  adversary,  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walk- 
eth  ibout,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  Ephesians 
11,12:    "Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye 


VI 


may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil. 
For  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against 
principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wicked- 
ness in  high  places."  But,  friends,  there  in  another  rea- 
son why  I  believe  in  a  personal  devil,  and  that  is,  be- 
cause of  the  teaching  of  my  own  experience  and  my 


EVERY  MAN'S  NEED  OP  A  BEFUGE      69 

common  sense.   Years  ago  a  great  French  man  of  sci- 
ence was  crossing  the  Arabian  desert  nnder  the  leader- 
ship of  an  Arab  guide.   When  the  sun  was  setting  in 
the  west,  the  guide  spread  his  praying-rug  down  upon 
the  ground  and  began  to  pray.    When  he  had  finished 
the  man  of  science  stood  looking  at  him  with  scorn, 
and  asked  him  what  he  was  doing.    He  said,  "I  am 
praying."   "Praying!  praying  to  whom?"    "To  Allah, 
to  God."    The  man  of  science  said,  "Did  you  ever  see 
God?"  "No."    "Did  you  ever  hear  God?"    "No."  "Did 
you  ever  put  out  your  hands  and  touch  God  and  feel 
Him?"   "No."    "Then  you  are  a  great  fool  to  believe 
in  a  God  you  never  saw,  a  God  you  never  heard,  a  God 
you  never  put  out  your  hand  and  touched."    The  Arab 
guide  said  nothing.    They  retired  for  the  night,  rose 
early  the  next  morning,  and  a  little  before  sunrise  they 
went  out  from  the  tent.   The  man  of  science  said  to 
the  Arab  guide,  "There  was  a  camel  round  this  tent 
last  night "  With  a  peculiar  look  in  his  eye,  the  Arab 
said,  "Did  you  see  the  camel?"  "No."    "Did  you  hear 
the  camel?"    "No."    "Did  you  put  out  your  hand  and 
touch  the  camel?"    "No."    "Well,  you  are  a  strange 
man  of  science  to  believe  in  a  camel  you  never  saw,  a 
camel  you  never  heard,  a  camel  you  never  put  out  your 
hands  and  touched."   "Oh,  but,"  said  the  other,  "here 
are  his  footprints  all  around  the  tent."    Just  then  the 
sun  was  rising  in  all  its  oriental  splendour,  and  with  a 
graceful  wave  of  his  barbaric  hand,  the  guide  said, 
"Behold  the  footprints  of  the  Creator,  and  know  that 
there  is  a  God."   I  think  the  untutored  savage  had  the 
best  of  the  argument.    Friends,  we  see  everywhere  in 
thia  magnificent  universe  the  footprints  of  the  Creator. 


70 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


But,  alas!    we  Bee  everywhere  in  human  society  the 
footprints  of  the  enemy.    Why,  you  have  only  to  walk 
the  streeta  of  London  and  you  see  the  footprints  of 
Satan;  you  Bee  them  in  your  dens  of  infamy,  in  the 
faces  of  the  men  and  women  on  the  streets,  and,  alas ! 
alas  I  you  see  the  footprints  of  Satan  in  the  homes  of 
culture  and  refinement.   What  means  it  that  men  and 
women  of  education,  men  and  women  of  refinement, 
fall  under  the  power  of  all  these  strange  delusions,  of 
Christian  Science,  Theosophy  and  all  that  sort  of  non- 
sense? It  means  that  there  is  a  devil— cunning,  subtle, 
masterly,  marvelous — more  than  a  match  for  you  and 
me  in  cunning  and  power.     We  need  a  hiding-place 
from  the  subtlety,  the  cunning,  the  power,  of  the  devil. 
IV.  A  Hiding-Place  needed  from  the  Wrath  to  come. 
— In  the  fourth  place,  we  need  a  hiding-place  from 
the  wrath  to  come.     There  are  a  great  many  peo- 
ple who  do  not  believe  that  there  is  "a  wrath  to  come." 
I  do.  Why  ?    Again,  because  the  Old  Book  says  so.  The 
Old  Book  says,  as  I  showed  you  last  night,  that  "God 
has  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  He  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness,"  and  God  has  given  assurance 
of  this  by  raising  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.     The 
Old  Book  says:    "There  is  to  be  a  day  of  wrath  and 
revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  a  holy  and 
outraged  God."    I  believe  this  because  the  Bible  says  so. 
Another  reason  why  I  believe  that  there  is  "a  wrath 
to  come"  is  that  my  common-sense  says  so.    Look  here, 
here  is  a  man  who  grows  rich  by  overreaching  his 
neighbours,  grows  rich  by  robbing  the  widow  and  the 
orphan.    He  does  it  by  legal  means.    Oh,  yes,  he  is  too 
cunning  to  come  within  reach  of  the  law.    But  he  grows 
rich  by  making  other  people  poor.    He  increases  in 


5 


EVERY  MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  REFUGE   n 

wealth  and  i»  honoured  and  respected.    When  he  goes 
down  the  streets  in  his  magnificent  equipage,  tl^e  gen- 
tleman on  the  street  turns  and  says  to  his  son:  "There 
goes  Mr.  So-and-so,  a  man  of  rare  business  ability,  a 
man  who  is  now  one  of  our  leading  men  of  capital.   I 
hope,  my  boy,  when  you  grow  up,  you  will  be  as  suc- 
cessful as  be."    He  lives  in  honour,  dies  in  honour,  dies 
respected  by  everybody— almost.     And  the  victims  of 
his  rapacity,  the  victims  of  his  oT^r-ession,  the  victims 
of  his  dishonesty  lie  yonder,  bl^  ";u.i' ^r  in  the  potter^a 
field,  where  they  have  gone  premJuteiy  iftnause  of  hia 
robbery.    Do  you  mean  to  tell  mt  '!.ai  r.ij..>e  will  not 
be  a  day  when  these  men  who  '         Uv-'  on  wealth 
wrung  from  the  poor  widow  and  orphan  will  not  have  to 
go  before  a  righteous  God  and  answer  for  it,  and  receive 
what  they  never  received  in  this  world,  the  meet  reward 
of  their  dishonesty?     Of  course  there  is  a  judgment 
day;  of  course  there  is  a  hell.    If  there  is  not,  then 
there  ought  to  be.    Look  here,  here  is  a  man  who  goes 
through  life,  never  giving  God  one  thought  from  one 
year  to  another.     He  leaves  God  out  of  his  business, 
leaves  God  out  of  his  social  life,  leaves  God  out  of  his 
study,  leaves  God  oi  t  of  his  pleasures,  and  makes  God's 
day  a  day  of  pleasure,  God's  book  never  opened,  God's 
Son  trampled  under  foot.    And  thus  the  man  lives,  and 
thus  he  dies,  going  through  the  world  ignoring  the 
God  that  made  him  and  gave  His  Son  to  die  upon  the 
cross  to  save  him.    Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  there 
will  not  be  a  day  when  that  man  will  have  to  go  up 
before  a  righteous  God  and  answer  these  questions: 
"What  did  you  do  with  My  day?"  **What  did  you  do 
with  My  laws?"  "What  did  you  do  with  My  Word?" 
"What  did  you  do,  above  all,  with  My  Son?"  Of  course 


K 


12 


IIEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


there  is  a  judgment  day.  And  you  and  I  need  a  hiding- 
place  from  it,  every  one  of  us,  for  every  one  of  us  has 
sin-icd  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  There  are 
then  tliese  four  things  from  which  we  need  a  hiding- 
place— our  own  conscience,  the  power  of  sin  within, 
the  power  and  subtlety  of  the  devil  and  the  wrath  to 
come. 

Is  there  a  hiding  place?  I  read  my  text  again:  "A 
man  shall  be  as  a  hiding-place  from  the  wind  and  a 
covert  from  the  tempest,  as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry 
place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land." 
A  man  shall  be — who  is  that  man?  There  is  just  one 
man  that  is  a  hiding-place — the  God-man,  Jesus  Christ. 
He  is  a  hiding-place  from  conscience.  I  have  told  you 
part  of  a  story,  and  I  will  now  tell  you  the  rest.  When 
that  woman  came  and  told  me  how  she  had  been  haunt- 
ed by  her  conscience  for  fourteen  years,  I  took  the  Bible 
and  said  to  her,  "Do  you  believe  what  is  written  in  this 
book?"  She  said,  "Yes,  sir,  I  believe  it  all.  I  was 
brought  up  in  the  Lutheran  Church."  "All  right,"  I 
said,  "listen"  (Isaiah  liii,  G) :  "'All  we  like  sheep  have 
gone  astray.'"  I  said,  "Is  that  true  of  you?"  "Oh, 
sir,"  she  said,  "it  is."  "'We  have  turned  every  one  to 
his  own  way.' "  "Is  that  true  of  you  ?"  "Oh,  yes,  that 
is  the  trouble.  It  is  true."  I  said,  "What  are  you?" 
She  said,  "I  am  lost."  "Very  well,  listen  to  the  rest 
of  it :  'And  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us 
all.'  Now,"  I  said,  "who  is  the //tmr  She  said,  "It  ia 
Jesus  Christ."  "^Vell,  listen :  'And  the  Lord  hath  laid 
on  Jesus  Christ  the  iniquity  of  us  all.'  Now,"  I  said, 
"let  my  Bible  represent  your  sin,  let  my  right  hand 
represent  you,  and  my  left  hand  Jesus  Christ."  I 
closed  the  Bible  and  repeated  the  text:  "All  we  like 


EVERY  MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  REFUGE      73 

sheep  have  gone  astray.  We  have  turned  every  one  to 
his  own  way."  And  I  laid  my  Bible  in  my  right  hand 
and  said,  "Where  is  your  sin  now?"  She  said,  "It  is 
on  me."  "Well,  listen :  'The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all.' "  And  I  laid  the  Bible  over  on  the 
other  hand.  "Where  is  your  sin  now  ?"  She  hesitated 
and  then  said,  "It  is  on  Jesus  Christ."  "Right!"  I 
said.  "Is  it  on  you  any  longer,  then?"  It  was  a  few 
moments  before  she  spoke,  and  then  she  burst  out 
with  a  cry  of  joy:  "No,  it  is  on  Jesus  Christ!"  That 
woman,  who  had  been  haunted  by  her  conscience  for 
fourteen  years  went  from  my  office  that  day  with  the 
peace  of  Cod  in  her  heart.  Is  there  a  man  or  woman 
here  haunted  with  the  memory  of  the  past?  Christ  is 
a  hiding-place  and  there  is  peace  to-night  for  you  in 

Him. 

Christ  is  a  hiding-place  from  sin  within.  I  knew 
a  young  man  belonging  to  a  good  family,  highly  edu- 
cated, with  noble  aspirations,  but  completely  overmas- 
tered by  sin  in  one  of  its  most  loathosome  forms.  IIo 
tried  to  break  away,  tried  U>  be  a  man,  but  failed,  and 
he  went  down,  deeper  and  deeper  and  deeper,  until  at 
last  he  was  in  despair  and  on  the  verge  of  a  suicido*.^ 
grave,  and  one  awful  night  when  despair  had  settled 
on  his  soul,  he  cried  to  God  for  Christ's  sake,  and  Christ 
set  him  free.  And  never  once  did  he  fall  into  that  sin 
again. 

Thirdly,  Christ  is  a  hiding-place  from  the  power  of 
sin.  I  know  a  man  in  our  home  country — I  think  T 
never  knew  a  man  in  my  life  more  completely  in  the 
power  of  Satan  than  he  was — a  man  of  brilliant  intel- 
lectual gifts,  the  most  remarkable  orator  I  ever  heard. 
And  yet  he  had  gore  town,  and  had  fallen  into  the 


K 


74 


HEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


power  of  Satan,  gone  down  until  his  friends  had  all 
left  him,  until  his  wife  and  children  were  wanderers, 
and  he  was  a  tramp  on  the  streets.    The  man  had  gone 
down  so  low  that  on  one  occasion  I  was  told  he  threw  his 
poor  wife  down  on  the  floor  (one  of  the  noblest  wom- 
en who  ever  stood  by  a  fallen  husband),  and  stamped 
on  her  with  his  heel.    I  said  to  him,  "John,  you  ought 
to  be  repentant."    He  said,  "WeU,  I  doa't  belieTe  as 
you  do.    I  do  not  believe  in  God  or  in  your  Bible." 
"But,"  I  said,  "John,  that  does  not  make  any  differ- 
ence; if  you  will  take  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour,  He 
will  save  you,  and  if  you  do  not  take  Him,  you  are  lost." 
A  few  months  afterwards,  in  another  city,  he  went  to 
Lis  wretched  garret,  and  threw  himself  upon  Christ, 
and  Jesus  Christ  met  him  and  saved  him  and  trans- 
formed him,  and  to-day  he  is  one  of  the  most  honourod 
men  in  our  land.    There  is  no  mere  speculation  about 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.     It  is  a  present-day  de- 
monstrable reality.    It  is  not  merely  that  Christ  saved 
people  nineteen  hundred  years  ago;  he  is  saving  them 
to-day  in  London. 

Once  more,  Christ  is  a  hiding-place  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  Sow.  of  course,  I  cannot  prove  that  from  ex- 
pcri'-nce,  for  it  lies  in  the  future;  but  T  can  prove  it  by 
an  argument  that  is  unan-iwerable.  Tliat  argument  is 
this:  the  Christ  that  has  power  to  save  men  from  the 
power  of  sin  now  certainly  has  power  to  save  them 
from  the  consequences  of  sin  hereafter.  Is  not  that  a 
good  argument :  Let  me  add,  that  any  religion  that  is 
not  saving  you  from  the  ;K)wer  of  sin  to-day  viill  not 
ii:ive  you  from  the  consequences  of  sin  in  eternity. 
Tiipre  is  a  lot  of  religion  in  this  world  that  is  abso- 
lutely worthiest.    People  tell  you  that  thej  are  Chrit- 


1 


EVERY  MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  HEFUGE   T5 

tianB  and  that  tl^  are  .Tligio«Ss  They  are  sayi^ 
their  prayers,  and  doing  all  sorts  -^  things.  1  will  ask 
you  a  question:  "Haw  you  g-^.  ihat  kind  of  faith  in 
Jesus  Ohnst  that  is  ^aviBg  y«>«L  from  the  power  of  sin 
to-day?"  If  you  Wra,  ywt  have  that  kind  of  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  ihat  wiU  save  you  from  the  conse- 
quences of  sin  hereafter.  But  if  you  have  that  kind  of 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  which  after  all  is  not  faith,  which 
is  not  saving  you  now,  you  have  that  kind  of  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  that  won't  saw  you  from  th«  penalty  of 
sin  hereafter. 

Friends,  Jesus  Christ  is  a  refuge,  a  hiding-place  from 
conscience  and  its  accusations,  from  the  power  of  sin 
within,  from  the  power  of  Satan,  from  the  wrath  to 
come,  from  all  th«!t  man  needs  a  hiding-place  from. 
Who  will  come  to  this  hiding-pkee  to-night? 


•mn 


THE  DRAMA  OF  LIFE  IN  THBEE  ACTS 
"A  certain  man  had  two  soap."    Luke  zv.  IX. 

My  subje*^  to-night  is  the  Qfams.  of  Life  in  Thw*  Acta. 
The  I^fd  Jesus  Christ  ;-  rh»'  *athor  of  the  Draaia,  and 
it  sn?T>a88es  anrtiiing  ths^t  ^as  ever  3«t  on  th**  ^ajf*? 
in  conei«ene»5i»,  in  j»int,  la  ii*;!ifht  and  i^-pth,  and  f*:^ 
ness  and  beauty  of  »eaiiin^.  j#  fwthos  i«ad  in  powtjr. 
Tlie  Dran*atid  Fertiouae  of  ti»'  <trama  a*.*  foiur — God, 
two  men  .«od  the  Jevil.  Thei^  aee  thr*  *et»  in  tlie 
d«pama:  th*?  First  Ac"  Wanderii»^  ^^  Ae  gecond  Aet ,  Des- 
olation; and  'm  Thi"-  Act,  Tb^  Wanderer's  Re^am. 
There  s  a  Fourth  Act,  ^vA  iriti  tuat  we  have  jnoiinaig 
to  do  lo-night. 

Act  i— VANDBHivo;  <m  The  Natube  op  S#ir. 

In  the  first  a<^  thei*  arc  two  scenes: 

Scene  1. — A  beautiful  home,  a  tpacious  mansion, 
with  everything  lo  meet  every  desire  of  the  hearts  of 
its  occupants.  An  aged  fatiier,  whose  countenance  is 
full  of  nobility,  and  wisdom,  and  kindness,  a  remark- 
able blending  of  strength  and  tenderness.  He  is  in 
earnest  conversation  with  the  younger  of  his  two  sons. 
This  younger  son  is  tired  of  the  restraints  of  home.  He 
has  heard  of  the  gaiety  in  a  distant  country,  and  he 
longs  to  break  the  trammels  of  his  father's  guardian 
care,  and  to  sve  the  sights  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
this  new  land.    And  he  cries  impatiently,  "Father,  give 

16 


THE  DRAMA  OF  LIFE 


77 


me  the  portion  of  thy  goods  that  falleth  to  me.**  A  look 
of  inexpressible  pain  passes  over  the  gentle  face  of  the 
aixed  father,  but  he  grants  the  son's  request. 

Scene  2. — A  leave-taking,  a  home-leaving.  The 
voanger  son  hat  gathered  all  his  property  together,  got 
It  i&to  as  portable  a  form  as  possible,  and  is  taking  his 
joumej  to  the  far  country.  It  is  a  beautiful  spring 
morning,  the  kirds  are  sinping  sweetly,  the  air  is  fra- 
grant with  the  perfume  of  spring  flowers,  the  young 
man* f  voice  is  full  of  gladness  and  eood  cheer,  and  with 
light  and  tripping  step  ho  wends  his  way  down  the 
avenue  from  the  old  home,  little  thinking  of  the  father 
who  watches  him  with  moist  eyes  and  lonely  heart  ah 
ho  leaves  the  front  gate  and  goes  out  into  a  false  and 
cruel  wor'J. 

In  these  two  scenes  we  have  a  picture  of  the  nature, 
beginnings  and  growth  of  sin.  The  father  in  the  drama 
is  God;  the  son,  man  wandering  from  God.  The  son 
wished  to  have  his  own  way;  he  was  tired  of  the  re- 
straints of  his  father's  control.  He  dc.>im;d  to  got  awav 
from  his  father  that  he  might  do  as  he  pleased.  That 
is  where  sin  begins — in  a  desire  to  be  iudopendcnt  of 
God,  in  a  desire  to  have  our  own  way,  in  a  desiro  to  do 
as  we  please.  The  essence  of  sin  i.-  in  a  desire  to  do 
what  we  please,  rather  than  be  constantly  looking  to 
God  and  asking  Him  what  ploa-^es  Hsm.  Is  there  any 
man  or  woman  here  to-night  who  wishes  to  do  a^  they 
please?  They  have  the  beginnings  of  sin  in  their  heart. 
\"ow,  what  you  please  to  do  may  be  upright,  may  be 
moral,  may  be  very  refined,  but  the  desire  to  do  your 
own  will  is  the  heart  and  ossonco  and  substance  of  sin. 
There  are  difforeat  classes  of  sinners  and  different 
forms  of  sin.    There  is  sin  that  is  coarse,  and  there  is 


K 


78 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


sin  that  is  refined.  There  is  sin  that  is  low  and  vulgar, 
and  there  is  sin  that  is  genlcel  and  elegant.  But  all 
sin  is  alike  in  essence.  It  is  man  seeking  to  be  inde- 
pendent of  God,  man  seeking  to  have  his  own  way; 
that  is  where  sin  begins,  that  is  the  very  essence  of  sin. 

The  second  scene  represents  to  us  the  growth  of  sin. 
The  son  did  not  leave  home  at  once.  His  heart  was  in 
the  far  country  already,  but  he  still  stayed  at  home. 
But  not  very  long.  Not  many  days  after  his  feet  fol- 
lowed where  his  heart  had  already  gone.  That  is  the 
story  of  sin  in  every  instance.  When  a  man  starts  out 
in  the  path  of  sin,  starts  out  to  have  his  own  way,  he 
does  not  give  up  all  communion  with  God  at  once.  He 
still  goes  to  church  occasionally,  reads  his  Bible  occa- 
sionally, prays  now  and  th'^n,  but  less  and  less  as  the 
days  go  by,  until  at  last  he  begins  to  wonder  whether 
there  is  any  God,  begins  to  listen  to  voices  that  say 
there  is  no  God,  and  last  of  all,  blatantly  cries,  "No 
God,  no  divine  Christ,  no  inspired  Bible,  no  God!" 

How  far  have  you  got  on  that  path  of  sin  ?  Are  you 
just  starting  out  ?  Are  you  seeking  your  own  pleasure, 
but  still  keeping  up  some  form  of  communion  with 
God,  still  attending  the  House  of  God  now  and  then, 
opening  the  Bible  now  and  then,  praying  now  and  then, 
but  less  and  less;  or  have  you  got  farther  down  that 
road,  down  where  you  are  never  found  in  the  House 
of  God,  never  read  >t»r  Bible,  never  go  to  God  in 
prayer?  Or  have  you  got  away  off  into  the  far  coun- 
tTT,  where  you  j«y,  "There  is  no  God,  the  Bible  is  not 
the  Word  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  is  not  the  Son  of  God?" 
How  far  have  you  got  down  the  path  of  sin  ? 

Will  you  notice  before  we  leave  this  Act  that  tlw 
father  granted  the  younger  son's  request?     He  katm 


THE  DRAMA  OF  LIFE 


79 


how  the  hoy  would  use  the  money,  hut  he  also  knew 
that  the  only  way  for  him  to  learn  wisdom  was  in  the 
bitter  school  of  experience.  That  is  precisely  the  way 
that  God  deals  with  us.  If  a  man  desires  to  live  in- 
dependently of  God,  God  lets  him  do  it.  God  does  not 
force  a  man  into  a  life  of  communion  with  Himself, 
and  conscious  dependence  on  Himself ;  He  gives  us  our 
choice  and  gives  us  our  powers  to  make  a  living,  and 
if  we  wish  to  live  without  communion  with  Him,  He 
allows  us  to  do  it.  If  we  can  only  leam  the  folly  of  liv- 
ing away  from  God  by  bitter  experience,  God  lets  us 
have  the  experience. 

Act  II. — Desolation  ;  or,  The  Fbuits  of  Sin. 

Scene  1. — It  is  a  gay  one.  The  young  man  has 
reached  the  far  country,  and  life  is  one  constant  round 
of  pleasure;  balls,  wine  suppers,  races,  card  parties, 
tlieatres,  operas,  all  kinds  of  amusements,  innocent  and 
ginful,  are  the  order  of  the  day.  Every  day  is  a  day  of 
gaiety  and  every  night  a  night  of  dissipation,  and  the 
young  fellow  is  having  a  right  royal  time.  Oftentimes 
ho  looks  back  on  the  quiot  home  life.  Ah!  how  hum- 
drum it  was;  how  ho.  pities  his  elder  brother  staying 
home  there  in  all  that  dull  life! 

Scrm  ;2  — The  t^ccni'  =hift^•.  lie  is  =tlll  in  the  city, 
but  the  boom  has  burst ;  hard  time*  have  come,  men 
are  out  of  »©rk,  famine  stalks  the  street.  On  ev«^ry 
corner  there  are  little  grou-w  of  men  in  ragged  cKithes, 
with  pinched  fn^^o  w\ih  (starvation  looking  out  of  their 
eyes,  standing  around  tryir^'  »o  cam  a  chance  penny  by 
doing  odd  jobs,  «nd  o«f  fr.end  is  among  the  company. 
"There  arose  a  it?  zhty  fiunii^  la  that  land,  and  he  be- 
gan to  be  in  waat." 


K 


80 


BEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Scene  S. — A  rural  scene,  but  not  a  pleasant  one.    A 
great  pasture,  but  not  a  blade  of  grase.    In  the  pro- 
longed drought  every  spear  of  grass  has  withered.    In 
the  midst  of  the  field  stands  a  lonely  carob  tree,  from 
which  hang  the  long  pods  covered  with  dust;  a  herd 
of  gaunt,  hungry  swine  are  nosing  about  in  the  sand 
looking  for  stray  carob  beans.    Our  friend  stands  un- 
derneath the  tree  looking  eagerly  up  at  the  carob  beans, 
for  "he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly  with  the  husks 
that  the  swine  did  cat."    At  last,  driven  by  hunger,  but 
at  the  same  time  weakened  by  it,  he  wearily  climbs  the 
tree,  and  shakes  it  until  the  pods  fall  from  its  branches, 
but  the  hogs  have  devoured  them  before  he  can  reach 
the  ground.     Again  and   again  he   climbs  the  tree, 
but  with  the  same  result,  and  at  last  he  falls  upon 
the  ground  in  despair,  starving,  "and  no  man  gave  unto 
him."     In  these  scenes  of  the  parablo,  we  gave  a  pic- 
ture of  the  fruits  of  sin.    The  first  fruit  of  sin  is  pleas- 
ure; the  young  man  had  a  good  time  at  first.     There 
are  those  who  tell  us  that  there  is  no  pleasure  in  sin, 
but  I  will  not  tell  you  that ;  first,  bocau.se  you  would 
not  believe  me  if  I  did.    You  have  tried  sin  and  found 
pleasure  in  it.     I  will  not  tell  you  that  there  is  no 
pleasure  in  sin,  because  I  know  it  is  not  true.     I  tried 
sin  and  found  pleasure  in  it.    I  will  not  tell  you  there 
is  no  pleasure  in  sin,  because  the  Bible  does  not  say 
so.     It  is  true  that  the  Bible  says  "there  is  no  peace 
for  the  wicked,"  and  you  know  that  is  true,  or,  if  you 
don't  know  it  now,  you  will  before  very  long.    But  the 
Bible  does  not  say  that  there  is  no  pleasure  in  sin.    On 
the  contrary,  the  Bible  si^eaks  in  Hebrews  xi.  of  "the 
plf*«tres  of  sin."    Of  course  it  adds  that  they  are  only 
"for  a  setior  '  very  thort  lived.    There  is  pleasure  in 


THE  DRAMA  OP  LIFE 


81 


ein.  Some  one  has  said,  I  think  it  was  Mark  Guy 
Pearae,  that  the  devil  is  not  such  a  fool  as  to  go  fi^hin(,' 
without  bait.  The  pleasures  of  sin  are  the  devil's  bait. 
Bui  mind  you,  the  devil's  bait  always  has  a  hook  in 
it.  He  is  r'  igling  his  bait  before  some  of  you  hore 
to-night.  "(Ji\,"  he  says,  "don't  become  a  Christian; 
you  will  have  to  give  up  this;  the  ball-room,  look  at 
this;  the  theatre,  look  at  this;  the  card-party  and  its 
pleasures,  look  at  this."  And  to-night,  if  you  will 
snatch  the  devil's  bait,  the  first  you  know  you  will  liavi; 
the  devil's  hook  in  your  gills,  and  you  will  be  on  the 
bottom  of  the  devil's  boat,  beneath  a  pitiless  sun,  float- 
ing out  over  the  sea  of  a  hopeless  eternity. 

The  second  fruit  of  sin  is  want.  "He  began  to  be  in 
want."  That  is  always  *hc  second  result  of  sin — want, 
famine,  starvation  Oftentimes  they  come  in  a  very  lit- 
eral form.  How  many  men  there  are  in  London  to- 
night without  a  decent  coat  to  their  backs,  without  a 
meal  in  their  stomachs,  without  a  place  to  lay  their 
heads,  who  once  haa  plenty.  A  friend  of  mine  pointed 
out  to  me  a  man  one  night  in  Chicago.  He  said,  ''Do 
you  se^  that  poor  fellow  there  all  curled  up  near  the 
stove,  with  his  uncombed  hair  and  ragged  clothes? 
That  man  used  to  be  a  Congressman  of  this  district." 
Fast  times  followed  by  hard  times.  But  it  ice.  not 
always  come  that  way.  There  is  many  a  man  living  in 
Bin  who  has  pit-  of  money,  plenty  to  eat,  plenty  to 
drink,  plenty  to  put  on,  plenty  of  all  material  things ; 
nevertheless,  want  comes.  There  is  other  famine  be- 
sides temporal  famine.  There  is  other  starvation  besides 
physical  starvation.  A  man  has  a  soul  as  well  as  a 
belly,  though  a  good  many  men  in  London  live  as  if 


I\ 


82 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


they  did  not  believe  it;  but  it  is  a  fact.  The  hnman 
soul  is  80  large,  so  vast,  so  glorious  that  God  only  can 
fill  it,  and  away  from  God  there  is  starvation.  Augus- 
tine was  right  when  he  said,  "Thou,  0  Lord,  hast  made 
us  for  thyself,  and  our  soul  is  never  satisfied  until  it 
resteth  in  thyself,"  Away  from  God  there  is  barren- 
ness, away  from  God  is  an  aching  void,  away  from  God 
is  the  bottomless  abyss  of  insatiable  desire;  away  from 
God  is  woe,  \,oe,  woe!  Look  at  that  yoimg  fellow  as  he 
sits  there  in  his  tatters  and  with  uncombed  hair,  the 
hunger  of  his  stomach  looking  out  of  his  half-crazy 
eyes,  and  see  in  that  wretched  prodigal  a  picture  of  your 
soul,  a  picture  of  every  soul  in  this  hall  to-night  that 
is  away  from  God. 

How  well  I  remember  a  day  and  a  night  in  my  own 
life.  I  had  started  out  one  afternoon  to  have  an  aft- 
ernoon and  night  of  pleasure.  With  a  little  company 
of  chosen  companions  I  was  in  a  hall  that  had  been 
fitted  up  at  great  cost  for  pleasure.  For  a  few  mo- 
ments I  had  left  my  gay  companions,  and  I  stood  in 
the  distance  leaning  against  a  pillar  and  looking  at 
tliera  yonder.  And  oh,  there  was  such  a  cry,  such  an 
aching  void,  such  a  myrftcrioua  despair  In  my  heart, 
that  I  leaned  up  against  the  pillar  of  that  magrificent 
hall  and  I  groaned  in  the  agony  of  my  spirit.  I  was 
starving.  What  do  you  think  I  did  ?  I  shook  it  all  off 
and  went  right  back  to  spend  the  afternoon  and  night 
as  T  had  started  out  to  spend  it.    What  a  fool  I  was ! 

The  third  fruit  of  sin  is  degradation  and  slavery. 
"He  went  and  joined  himself  to  a  citizen  of  that  coun- 
try, and  he  sent  him  into  his  fields  to  feed  swine ;  and 
he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly  with  the  husks  that 
the  swine  did  «at,  and  no  man  gave  unto  him."  Jesus 


THE  DRAMA  OF  LIFE 


83 


was  speaking  to  Jews,  and  if  there  is  any  position 
low  and  degrading  in  the  sight  of  a  Jew  it  is  that  of 
a  Bwine-herd.    Christ  meant  this,  that  you  and  I  have 
our  choice  between  being  God's  sons  and  hog-tendcrs  to 
the  devil.    That  is  the  choice  open  to  every  man  here 
to-night.     That  young  man  might  have  been  a  son 
in  his  father's  home,  in  glad,  ennobling  and  well-re- 
quited service,  but  instead  of  that  he  is  hog-tender  to 
a  stranger.    It  is  open  to  you  to  be  a  child  of  God  in 
full  and  joyous  surrender  to  His  will,  in  glad  and  en- 
nobling and  well-requited  service,  or  to  be  hog-tender 
to  the  devil.  Men  say,  "I  will  not  be  a  Christian.  I  want 
my  own  way."   You  cannot  have  it ;  no  man  has  his  own 
way.    It  is  either  God's  way  or  the  devil's.    You  can't 
have  your  own  waj'— unless  you  make  God's  way  your 
own.    Young  man,  which  will  you  choose  to-night  ?    To 
be  a  child  of  God,  or  to  be  a  swine-herd  for  Satan? 

Act  III.— The  Wanderer's  Return;  or.  The  Rem- 
edy FOR  Sin. 

We  come  now  to  the  third  and  last  act  of  the  drama. 
There  are  two  scenes.  The  first  scene  is  the  same  lone- 
ly field.  The  young  man  sits  beneath  the  carob  tree 
with  his  face  in  his  hands  and  in  despair.  He  begins 
to  think.  Visions  of  the  old  home  come  before  him. 
He  sees  his  noble  father;  he  sees  the  well-laden  table; 
he  sees  the  weii-fod  servants,  and  bittcriy  he  cries,  "How 
many  hired  servants  of  my  father's  l^ave  ])read  enough 
and  to  ?pare,  and  I  (his  son)  perish  with  hunger!" 
and  his  face  sinks  deeper  into  his  hands.  Then  he  lifts 
his  head  with  the  light  of  a  new  hope  in  his  eyes,  and 
he  cries,  "I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say 


1^ 

|2.( 

L& 
L& 

Ih 

tii 

13^ 

lu 

la 

1^ 

2.0 
1.8 


MICROCOPY  RESOLUTION  TEST  CHART 

NATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  STANDARDS 

STANDARD  REFERENCE  MATERIAL  1010a 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


84 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


unto  him.  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  Heaven  and 
before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy 
son;  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants."    And  he 
arose  and  came  to  his  Father.    This  is  God's  picture 
of  the  remedy  for  sin.    Notice  what  it  is.    In  the  first 
place  he  began  to  think— that  is  where  salvation  be- 
gins, in  thinking.    People  say  that  Christianity  is  blind 
faith;  not  a  bit  of  it.    Christianity  is  a  rational  faith 
that  comes  from  honest,  candid,  close  thought.    He 
began  to  think.     Men  often  say  to  me,  "I  am  not  a 
Christian,  because  I  think  for  myself."  My  dear  friend, 
you  are  not  a  Christian  because  you  don't  think  for 
yourself.    You  don't  think,  and  you  know  you  don't. 
For  every  man  who  is  not  a  Christian  because  he  thinks 
for  himself,  I  will  show  you  a  hundred  who  are  not 
Christians  because  they  don't  and  won't  think  for  them- 
selves.   What  is  the  trouble  with  you  who  are  out  of 
Christ?    The  simple  trouble  is  that  you  won't  think. 
You  are  bound  not  to  think.    You  deliberately  refuse 
to  read  every  book  that  would  make  you  think.     You 
go  down  to  hear  some  infidel  lectures  because  you  think 
that  will  prevent  you  thinking,  because  they  stuff  you 
with  irrational  nonsense.    At  a  meeting  like  this  you 
will  go  out  wheu  the  preaching  becomes  too  pointed 
and  you  are  compelled  to  think;  some  of  you  would 
do  it  now  if  you  dared.    If  I  could  get  you  men  and 
women  who  are  out  of  Christ  to  think  for  thirty  con- 
secutive minutes,  I  would  get  you  saved.    The  trouble  is 
you  are  bound  not  to  think.     A  stubborn  refusal  t: 
think  is  sending  tens  of  thousands  of  the  men  of  Great 
Britain  down  to  perdition. 

He  thought  about  the  comparative  lots  of  his  father's 
servants  and  of  himself  in  this  far  country.    The  com- 


THE  DRAMA  OF  LIFE 


85 


parative  positions  of  a  child,  or  even  a  servant,  of  God 
and  a  servant  of  the  devil;  that  is  the  thing  to  think 
about.  I  wish  I  could  get  a  good  and  faithful  servant 
of  Ohriet  and  a  faithful  servant  of  the  devil  to  stand 
together  on  this  platform  to-night  and  just  let  you 
look  at  the  two.  Pick  out  the  best  servant  of  the  devil 
you  know  in  London,  and  V\en  pick  out  the  most  faith- 
ful and  devoted  servant  of  Jesus  Christ  that  you  know; 
then  make  a  call  on  them  the  same  day,  and  study 
their  faces.  If  this  does  not  make  a  Christian  of  you, 
it  is  because  you  are  not  willing  to  give  up  sin.  Com- 
pare the  lot  of  the  child  of  God  and  that  of  the  servant 
of  the  devil. 

But,  friends,  he  did  not  stop  with  thinking;  his 
thought  brightened  into  resolution.  He  said,  "I  will 
arise  and  go."  It  is  not  enough  to  think,  you  must  re- 
solve; there  are  people  here  to-night  who  have  thought 
of  this  question  often  and  who  know  ju^^t  as  well  a^ 
I  do  that  they  ought  to  be  Christians,  but  they  never 
come  to  the  point  of  resolution.  In  my  first  pastorate 
there  was  one  of  our  leading  men  in  business  and  pol- 
itics whom  I  know  very  well.  I  said  to  him,  "John, 
you  ought  to  be  a  Christian."  "I  know  it,"  ho  replied. 
"I  would  give  everything  in  the  world  if  I  were  a  Chris- 
tian. I  know  you  have  got  the  right  of  it,  and  the  best 
of  it,  and  I  would  like  to  be  a  Christian !"  "Then,"  I 
said,  "John,  give  me  your  hand  on  it,  and  take  Jesus 
Christ  right  now."  But  he  never  would  come  to  the 
point  of  resolution.  Don't  only  think ;  resolve !  What 
are  you  to  resolve  ?  "I  will  arise  and  go  to  the  Father." 
That  is  the  thing;  come  to  God,  to  your  Father.  Come 
right  to  Him. 

But  notice  how  to  come;  come  with  a  confession,  and 


H 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


say,  "I  have  sinned."  That  is  the  only  way  a  sinner 
can  come  to  God— with  a  confession,  God  is  willing  to 
receive  the  vilest  sinner  on  earth  that  will  come  with 
a  confession  on  his  lips. 

The  last  step  is  "He  arose  an'',  came  to  his  Father." 
He  turned  his  back  on  husks  and  hogs  and  hunger  and 
turned  his  face  towards  home.    Now  we  come  to  the 
last  scene.    The  boy  is  nearing  home.    I  don't  know 
what  his  thoughts  may  have  been  by  the  way.   He  may 
have  had  doubts  and  fears,  he  may  have  wondered  how 
he  would  be  received,  he  may  even  have  thought,  "I 
wish  I  could  fix  myself  up  better  before  going  home." 
But  he  had  sense  enough  to  come  just  as  he  was,  and 
he  kt'pt  trudging  right  along  on  his  journey,  and  now 
he  is  within  a  few  miles  of  home.   Away  off  yonder  on 
the  hilltop,  as  the  sun  is  setting,  stands  a  man,  an  old 
man,  in  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  peering  off 
into  the  west.  He  has  often  been  there  before;  it  is  the 
father  looking  out  into  the  west  for  the  home-coming 
of  the  boy  that  never  came.   The  loving  father  is  there 
again,  for  love  never  wearies,  looking  out  into  the  west. 
Away  down  yonder  towards  the    horizon    he    sees  a 
speck.   Can  it  be  the  boy?  It  grows  larger  and  larger; 
it  assumes  the  proportions  and  form  of  a  man,  but  not 
at  all  the  boy  who  left  his  home;  no  longer  is  it  that 
rotund  form,  no  longer  is  there  the  bright  glow  of 
youth  in  his  face,  no  longer  is  there  the  light,  tripping 
step.    It  is  the  figure  of  a  man  prematurely  old,  with 
sunken  cheeks  and  emaciated  form,  clothed  in  rags  and 
sore-footed,  limping  slowly  along  the  road.     But^  those 
old  eyes,  though  dim  with  age,  are  sharp  with  love.  Hear 
that  crj',  "My  son,  my  son !"  The  aged  feet  forget  their 
feebleness.    The  old  man  runs  and  falls  on  the  neck  of 


THE  DRAMA  OF  LIFE 


87 


his  son  and  kisses  him.    The  son  begins  to  stammer  out 
his  confession:  "Father,  I  have  sinned  against  Heaven 
and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son."     But  the  father  won't  hear  another  word. 
He  cries :  "Bring  forth  the  best  robe  and  put  it  on  him, 
and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand  and  shoes  on  his  feet ;  and 
bring  hither  the  fatted  calf  and  kill  it;  and  let  us  eat 
and  be  merry,  for  this  my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive 
again;  he  was  lost  and  is  found."    Of  what  is  this  a 
picture?  God — God's  attitude  towards  the  sinner.  Al- 
though the  son  had  forgotten  the  father,  the  father  had 
never  forgotten  the  son.  For  many  years  you  have  for- 
gotten God,  but  God  has  never  forgotten  you.     You 
have  not  thought  of  God  for  many  a  long  day,  but  there 
has  not  been  a  day  in  which  God  has  not  thought  of 
you,  waiting  to  see  some  sign  of  your  home-coming. 
If  you  turn  your  back  on  your  sin  to-night,  if  you  turn 
your  back  on  husks,  hogs  and  hunger,  turn  you  face 
towards  God;  while  you  are  still  a  great  way  oflf,  God 
will  run  to  meet  you;  and  there  will  be  the  best  robe 
of  God's  own  righteousness  in  Christ  to  put  on  you,  a 
ring  for  your  finger,  a  pledge  of  your  sonship;  a  kiss 
of  reconciliation  for  your  cheek,  shoes  of  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  Gospel  of  Peace  for  your  feet,  and  the  fat- 
ted calf,  typical  of  the  great  feast  of  joy  and  gladness 
in  Jesus  Christ.  Men  and  women,  come  home  to-night. 
I  heard  years  ago  a  story  which  I  have  never  for- 
gotten.   A  girl  had  gone  astray  and  had  left  her  home 
for  the  great  city.    For  some  time  she  had  continued 
to  write  to  her  mother,  but  after  a  while  her  letters 
became  less  frequent  and   at  last  they  ceased  alto- 
gether. The  mother  suspected  the  worst,  and  came  up 
to  the  city  to  search  for  the  lost  girl.   She  went  to  a 
gentleman  who  worked  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  rifv 


88 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


and  asked  him,  "Can  you  get  my  daughter  for  me?" 
"Wdl,"  ho  replied,  "I  think  I  can,  but  you  will  have 
to  do  just  what  I  teU  you."    "I  will  do  anything  to 
get  my  daughter,"  she  replied.   "Then,"  said  the  mis- 
sionary, "go  to  a  photogr  pher  and  have  your  picture 
taken;  have  it  taken  large  size,  and  have  a  hundred  of 
them,  and  bring  them  to  me."  After  a  while  the  moth- 
er came,  bringing  the  hundred  photographs.    "Now,'* 
he  said,  "sit  down  and  write  underneath  each  photo- 
graph just  these  two  words,  'Cbme  home,'"  and  the 
mother  sat  down  and  wrote.   "Now,"  said  the  mission- 
ary, "may  I  take  these  photographs  down  into  the  low 
parts  of  the  city  and  put  them  up  in  the  saloons  and 
places  of  infamy?"    It  was  a  hard  thing  to  ask  of  a 
pure  woman,  that  her  picture  should  be  put  up  to  the 
gaze  of  the  outcast  and  the  vile.   But  the  mother's  love 
said  "Yes"— anything  to  win  the  girl.    The  man  took 
them  and  put  them  up  in  a  hundred  dens  of  infamy. 
Then  he  said  to  the  mother,  "Now  go  right  home  and 
wait."   A  few  nights  after,  a  group  of  revellers  came 
into  one  of  the  places  where  the  mother's  picture  hung; 
among  the  group  was  the  lost  daughter :  who,  looking 
across  the  saloon,  saw  that  picture  on  the  wall.     It 
looker"  familiar.    Stepping  over  to  it,  she  saw  in  her 
mother's  handwriting  the  two  words,  "Come  home." 
She  knew  what  it  meant ;  it  broke  her  heart ;  she  fled 
from  the  saloon  and  took  the  first  train  for  home,  and 
in  a  few  hours  she  was  wrapped  in  her  mother's  arm3. 

That  is  what  God  has  done  in  this  fifteenth  chap- 
ter of  Luke.  He  has  sent  down  a  picture  of  Himself, 
a  picture  of  His  heart  of  love,  of  His  love  for  you  and' 
nie,  and  underneath  it  God  has  written,  as  it  were  in 
His  own  handwriting,  these  two  words,  "Come  home." 
Will  you  come  to-night? 


VII 


A  QUESTION  THAT  SHOULD  STARTLE  EVERY 
MAN  WHO  IS  NOT  A  CHRISTIAN 


"How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  ao  great  salvation?"— 
Hebrews,  ii,  3. 

I  have  a  text  to-night  which  I  believe  God  has  given 
me  for  this  hour,  a  text  that  ought  to  startle  every 
man  and  woman  in  this  building  who  has  not  accepted 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  You  will  find  it  in  Hebrews 
ii.  3 :  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  sal- 
vation?" I  wish  that  that  text  would  burn  itself  into 
the  heart  of  every  man  and  woman  in  this  house  who  is 
out  of  Christ,  "How  shall  I  escape  if  I  neglect  so  great 
salvation?"  I  wish  that  every  man  and  woman  that 
may  go  away  from  this  place  to-night  without  definitely 
having  received  Christ  as  their  Saviour  and  Lord  and 
Master  would  hear  it  ringing  in  their  ears  as  they  go 
down  the  street,  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect 
60  great  salvation  ?"  I  wish  that  every  one  that  may  lie 
down  to  sleep  to-night  without  a  definite  assurance  of 
sins  forgiven  through  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  of  acceptance  before  God  in  Him,  would  hear  it  all 
through  the  night,  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect 
80  great  salvation  ?"  Our  text  sets  forth  the  folly  and 
guilt  of  neglecting  the  salvation  that  God  has  sent  to  us 
in  and  through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  is  my 
subject  to-night.  My  sermon  is  all  in  the  text — ^the 
folly  and  guilt  of  neglecting  the  salvation  that  God  the 


90 


KEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Father  has  sent  through  His  Son  and  in  His  Son 
Jesus  CSirist. 

You  notice  I  say  not  merely  the  folly  but  the  guilt 
There  is  many  a  man  who  thinks  that  perhaps  it  may 
be  a  foolish  thing  not  to  accept  Christ,  and  admits  the 
folly  of  it,  but  he  has  never  realized  the  guilt  of  it. 
But  I  shall  endeavour  to  show  you  to-night  in  the  un- 
foldinc  of  this  text  that  it  is  not  merely  an  egregiously 
foolish  thing,  but  that  it  is  an  appalling  wicked  thing 
to  neglect  this  salvation. 

I.  The  Greatness  of  the  Salvation. 

We  see  the  folly  and  guilt  of  neglecting  this  salva- 
tion, in  the  first  place,  by  a  consideration  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  salvation.  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neg- 
lect so  great  salvation?" 

1.  We  see  the  greatness  of  the  salvation  first  of  all 
in  the  way  in  which  the  salvation  was  given.   God  sent 
His  Son,  His  only  Son,  down  into  the  world  to  pro- 
claim this  salvation.  As  we  read  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, "God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  man- 
ners, spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  proph- 
ets, hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  His  Son, 
whom  He  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom' 
also  He  made  the  worlds;  who,  being  the  brightness  of 
His  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person,  and 
upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  His  power,  when 
He  had  by  Himself  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high."   Have  you  ever 
thought  of  it  in  the  light  of  the  context,  that  when  God, 
in  infinite  condescension,  the  great  and  infinitely  holy 
God,  sent  down  His  own  Son  to  proclaim  pardon  to  the 
▼ilest  sinner,  if  you  and  I  neglect  this  salvation  we  aro 


'A  STARTLING  QUESTION" 


91 


pouring  contempt  upon  the  Son  of  God,  and  upon  the 
Father  that  sent  Him?  If  God  had  spoken  this  salva- 
tion by  the  lips  only  of  inspired  prophets,  it  would  have 
a  right  to  demand  our  attention.  If  God  had  gone 
above  prophets,  and  had  spoken  this  salvation  by  the 
lips  of  angels  sent  down  from  Heaven,  it  would  have 
a  still  greater  right  to  demand  our  attention.  But 
when  God,  in  His  infinite  condescension,  sent  not  mere- 
ly prophets  or  angels,  but  sent  His  own  Son,  the  only 
begotten  one,  the  express  image  of  His  person,  God 
mPi .  '  "  the  flesh,  to  proclaim  this  salvation,  and 
jf>  .0  not  heed  it,  we  are  guilty  of  the  most  ap- 

pf     -  nption  and  defiance  of  God.  "He  that  de- 

epu..  isejj'  law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or 
three  witnesses,"  but  how  much  sorer  punishment  you 
and  I  shall  receive  if  we  neglect  this  greater  salvation. 
2.  In  the  second  place,  the  greatness  of  th's  salvation 
is  seen  in  the  way  in  which  it  was  purchased.  This  is 
a  costly  salvation.  It  was  purchased  by  the  shed  blood, 
by  the  outpoured  life  of  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  Ah, 
friends,  when  God  in  wondrous  love  went  to  that  ex- 
tent that  He  sacrificed  His  very  best,  when  God  went 
to  that  extent  that  He  gave  His  own  and  only  Son  to 
die  on  the  cross  at  Calvary,  that  He  might  purchase 
your  salvation  and  mine,  if  you  and  I  neglect  so  great 
salvation  we  are  pouring  contempt  on  the  precious 
blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  "He  that  despised  Moses' 
law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses," 
but  how  much  greater  punishment  shall  he  merit  who 
tramples  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  counts  the 
blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  He  was  sanctified  an 
unholy  thing,  aLa  insults  the  Spirit  of  Grace  (Hebrews 
X.  28,  29). 


92 


KEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


3.  Again,  the  greatness  of  this  salvation  is  seen  in 
the  third  place  by  a  consideration  of  what  it  brings. 
It  brings  pardon  for  aU  our  sins,  "t  brings  deliverance 
from  sin,  it  brings  union  with  the  Son  of  God  in  His 
resurrection  life,  it  brings  adoption  into  the  family  of 
Ood,  it  brings  an  inheritance  incorruptible  and  unde- 
iiled  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  laid  up  in    store  in 
Heaven  for  us,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God, 
through  faith,  unto  a  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in 
the  last  time.    When  you  think  that  God  has  put  at 
our  disposal  in  Jesus  Christ  all  His  wealth,  and  is 
ready  to  make  us  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Je- 
sus Christ,  who  can  measure  the  guilt  of  neglecting  and 
of  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  this  wonderful  salvation  ?    Sup- 
pose that  on  his  coronation  day  King  Edward  had  rid- 
den down  to  the  East  End  of  London,  and  seeing  some 
wretched  little  boy  on  the  street,  clad  in  rags,  with 
filthy  face  and  hands,  his  great  heart  of  love  had  gone 
out  to  that  wretched  boy,  and  he  had  stopped  the  royal 
carriage  and  sair'  "Bring  that  boy  here,"  and  they  had 
brought  the  boy,  and  he  had  said,  «I  want  to  take  you 
out  of  your  poverty,  out  of  your  squalor  and  rags  and 
wretched  home;  I  am  going  to  take  you  to  the  royal 
palace  and  adopt  you  as  my  son."    Then  suppose  the 
boy  had  turned  and  said,  "Go  along,  I  don't  want  to 
be  adopted  as  your  son;  I    would    rather    have    my 
wretched  crust  of  bread,  I  would  rather  have  my  rags 
and  filthy  home  than  live  in  your  old  palace;  I  don't 
want  to  go  to  be  your  son." 

But  when  the  great  King  of  Glorj-,  the  King  of  Kings 
and  Lord  of  Lords,  the  great  Eternal  Son  of  God 
comes  to  you  and  me,  in  our  filth  and  rags  and  sin, 
and  wants  to  take  us  out  of  our  filth  and  sin  and  rags 


—■yr- 


A  STARTLING  QUESTTON 


93 


of  unrighteousness,  and  says,  "I  want  to  adopt  you 
into  my  family  and  make  you  an  heir  of  God  and  a 
joint-heir  with  Me,"  there  are  some  of  you  men  and 
women  in  this  building  to-night  who,  by  your  actions, 
are  saying,  "Go  away  with  your  salvation,  go  away  with 
your  adoption  into  the  family  of  God;  I  would  rather 
have  the  crust  of  the  world's  pleasure  and  the  rags  of 
my  sin  than  all  the  royal  apparel  of  righteousness  and 
glory  which  you  offer  me."  Oh,  the  daring,  damning 
guilt  of  any  man  or  woman  who  neglects  so  great  salva- 
tion! 

IT.  TiiE  Only  Salvation. 

A  second  thought  which  the  text  suggests  is  that 
our  folly  is  great  in  neglecting  this  great  salvation  be- 
cause it  is  the  only  salvation  that  is  open  to  us.  As  Peter 
puts  it  in  Acts  iv.  12 :  "There  is  none  other  name  under 
Heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved." 
It  is  salvation  in  Christ,  or  it  is  no  salvation  at  all.  A 
man  is  in  a  burning  b  aiding.  If  there  were  one  way 
of  escape  by  a  fire-escape,  and  another  by  a  great  broad 
stairway,  he  would  have  a  perfect  right  to  neglect  the 
fire-escape  for  the  easier  escape  by  the  stairway.  But 
suppose  there  was  no  way  of  escape  but  the  fire-escape, 
how  great  would  be  his  folly  in  neglecting  it.  Men  and 
women,  you  are  in  a  burning  building,  in  a  doomed 
world.  There  is  just  one  way  of  escape;  that  is  by 
Christ.  In  Christ  any  one  can  be  saved ;  out  of  Christ 
no  one  shall  be  saved.  By  Christ,  or  not  at  all.  There 
is  a  class  of  men  to-day  who  say,  "Give  up  your  Bible, 
give  up  your  Christ  of  the  Bible,"  and  we  turn  to  them 
and  say,  "What  have  you  got  to  give  us  in  place  of  onr 
Bible;  what  have  you  got  to  give  us  in  place  of  the 


04 


EEVIVAL  ADDBESSES 


Christ  of  our  Bible?"    Now  we  know  by  personal  ex- 
pcnence  that  the  Bible  and  Clirist  bring  forgiveness  of 
sins  and  peace  of  heart,  for  they  have  brought  them  to 
us.    We  know  that  they  bring  deliverance  from  sin's 
power,  for  they  have  brought  it  to  us.  We  know  that 
they  bring  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  for  they 
have  brought  it  to  us.    We  know  that  they  bring  par- 
don and  a  firm  assurance  of  eternal  life,  for  they  have 
brought  them  to  us.   We  know  that  Christ  makes  us 
sons  of  God,  and  if  sons,  then  heirs  of  God,  and  joint 
heirs  with  Himself.    What  have  you  got  that  will  bring 
us  the  same,  that  will  bring  us  pardon  and  peace  and 
set  us  free  from  the  power  of  sin?  What  have  you  got 
that  will  bring  us  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory? 
What  have  you  got  that  will  bring  us  the  assurance  of 
eternal  life?   Have  you  anything?   No,  you  have  not. 
Well,  then,  please,  we  are  not  quite  so  great  fools  as  to 
give  up  a  book  and  a  Saviour  that  bring  us  all  these  for 
nothing.    Salvation  in  Christ,  or  salvation  not  at  all. 
Point  me  to  one  saved  man  in  London  that  was  not 
eaved  by  Christ.    I  have  been  away  round  this  round 
earth.    I  have  been  in  every  latitude  and  almost  every 
longitude,  north  and  south;  I  have  talked  with  all  kinds 
of  people,  of  all  races  and  all  classes,  but  I  have  never 
yet  found  a  saved  man,  who  had  a  glad  assurance  of 
salvation  and  practical  deliverance  from  sin's  power, 
that  was  not  saved  by  Jesus  Christ;  neither  has  anybody 
else. 

III.  To  MiSB  Salvation  All  That  is  Necessary  is 
Meeelt  to  Neglect  It. 
In  the  third  place,  this  text  teaches  us  that  to  miss 
this  salvation  ->nd  to  bring  upon  ourselves  the  just  and 


A  STARTLING  QUESTION  VI 

awful  displeasure  of  a  hM  Go  for  our  light  and  con- 
temptuous treatment  of  a  scl.ation  so  wonderful,  given 
and  purchased  at  so  great  a  cost,  all  that  is  necessary 
is  simply  to  neglect  it.  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we 
neglect — ^just  neglect,  so  great  salvation?"  In  order  to 
bring  upon  your  head  the  awful  displeasure  of  God,  and 
to  be  lost  forever,  it  is  not  necessary  that  you  go  into 
any  outrageous  immoralities;  it  is  not  necessary  that 
you  should  be  an  arrant  and  blatant  blasphemer;  it  is 
not  necessary  that  you  should  abus*  churches  ' 
preachers  of  the  Gospel;  it  is  not  necessary  that  ^ 
should  even  positively  refuse  to  accept  Joous  Clirist; 
all  that  is  necessary  is  that  you  simnly  negh-'t  More 
people  are  lost  in  Christian  lands  I  ieglectinj?  than  in 
any  other  way.  "^ere  are  millions  in  England  to-day 
who  are  going  through  life  neglecting,  drifting  into 
their  graves  neglecting,  drifting  into  eternity  neglect- 
ing, drifting  into  hell  neglecting.  That  is  all  that  is 
necessary  to  be  lost.  Here  is  a  dying  man,  there  stands 
a  table  by  the  dying  man's  bedside,  within  easy  reach, 
and  standing  on  that  table  there  is  a  tumbler  in  which 
there  is  a  medicine  that  has  power  to  save  the  dying 
man's  life.  The  man  has  strength  enough  .0  put  out 
his  hand  and  take  the  tumbler  and  drink  the  medicine. 
Now  what  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  that  man  to  be 
saved?  All  that  is  necessary  is  simply  for  him  to 
put  out  his  hand  and  take  the  tumbler  and  drink  the 
medicine.  What  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  that  man 
to  be  lost  and  die?  It  is  not  necessary  that  he  should 
cut  his  throat  or  blow  out  his  brains ;  it  is  not  necessary 
that  he  should  throw  the  medicine  out  of  ti.  window; 
it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  assault  or  insult 


06 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


the  doctor  or  the  nurse;  it  is  not  necessary  that  he 
should  positively  refuse  to  take  the  medicine;  all  that 
is  necessary  for  that  man  to  die  is  to  neglect  to  take  the 
medicina 

Men  and  women  out  of  Christ,  you  are  dying.  Eternal 
death  is  at  work  in  your  souls  to-night,  but  on  that 
table,  in  that  Book,  in  the  Christ  of  that  Book,  there 
is  a  medicine  that  will  save  you,  and  save  you  to-night 
if  you  will  take  it.    The  medicine  is  within  the  reach 
of  anybody  in  this  building.    Christ  is  nearer  to  you 
than  the  man  or  woman  that  sits  next  to  you  in  that  pew. 
All  you  have  to  do  to-night  to  be  saved  is  to  put  out 
your  hand  and  take  Christ.    "To  as  many  as  received 
Ihmto  them  gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God."    What  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  you  to  perish 
eternally?    Not  to  commit  moral  suicide;  not  to  com- 
mit to-night  some  awful  act  of  immorality;  not  to  get 
up  and  curse  Christ  and  the  Bible;  not  loudly  to  pro- 
claim that  you  are  an  infidel;  not  to  refuse  blatantly 
to  take  Christ ;  aJl  that  is  necessary  for  you  to  be  lost 
is  simply  to  neglect.    Here  is  a  boat  on  the  Niagara 
River,  away  above  the  Falls,  towards  Lake  Erie,  where 
there  is  scarcely  any  current.    A  man  sits  in  the  boat, 
being  carried  on  very  slowly  by  the  gentle  current! 
There  is  a  good  pair  of  oars  in  the  boat,  and  the  man 
could  take  them  and  pull  up  the  river  towards  the  lake, 
or  to  either  bank,  if  he  liked;  but  the  man  sits  there  and 
is  carried  on,  almost  imperceptibly  at  first,  and  then 
faster  and  faster,  until,  before  he  knows  it,  he  is  in  the 
swift  current  just  upon  the  rapids,  and  he  is  being 
carried  on  towards  the  Falls.    The  oars  are  no  good 
to  him  now,  the  current  is  too  swift;  he  could  not  save 


A  STARTLING  QUESTION" 


97 


himself  if  he  would — ^but  on  the  shore  there  are  men 
who  have  seen  his  peril ;  they  have  run  along  the  bank 
and  have  thrown  a  line  good  and  strong.  It  falls  right 
into  the  boat,  at  the  man's  very  feet.  What  is  all  that 
the  man  has  to  do  to  be  saved?  All  he  has  to  do  is  to 
lay  hold  of  the  rope  and  they  will  pull  him  ashore,  as  has 
been  done  more  than  once  on  that  river.  What  is  all 
that  he  has  to  do  to  be  lost?  It  is  not  necessary  that 
he  should  take  up  the  oa.  and  pull  with  the  current ; 
it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  throw  the  oars  over- 
board ;  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  himself  should  jump 
into  the  river ;  all  that  is  necessary  is  simply  for  him  to 
neglect  to  lay  hold  of  the  rope  that  lies  before  him,  and 
the  swift  current  of  the  river  will  carry  him  on  to  abso- 
lutely certain  death  over  the  cataract 

Men  and  women,  that  is  a  picture  of  every  man  and 
woman  in  this  building  out  of  Christ.  You  are  in  a 
boat  in  a  perilous  stream,  being  carried  towards  the  cat- 
aract of  eternal  perdition.  There  is  no  man  who  has 
the  power  to  take  the  oars  in  his  own  strength  and  pull 
against  that  awful  current;  there  is  no  man  on  earth 
who  can  save  himself;  but  God  has  seen  your  peril,  and, 
in  the  Gospel  of  His  Son,  has  thrown  out  a  rope.  It 
has  fallen  at  your  feet  to-night;  all  you  have  to  do  is 
to  lay  hold,  and  He  will  pull  you  safely  on  to  the  glori- 
ous shore.  But  what  is  all  that  you  have  to  do  to 
be  lost?  It  is  not  necessary  that  you  should  jump 
into  the  current  or  pull  with  the  stream,  or  refuse  to  ac- 
cept Christ.  All  that  is  necessary  is  that  you  simply 
neglect,  and  that  awful  current  that  you  are  already 
in  will  sweep  you  over  the  cataract  to  eternal  death 
and  ruin. 


98 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


So-o  one  put  a  little  card  into  my  hand  one  day,  a 
short  narrow  card,  and  on  the  one  side  were  these  words, 
•What  aust  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Underneath  was 
written  God's  answer  in  Acts  xvi.  31 :  "Believe  on  the 
^crd  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Then  it 
said  "Over,"  and  I  turned  it  over.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  card  was  this  question,  "What  must  I  do  to  be 

«4lL'"»  *«tf  u""""  *^'  '°'^'"  ^^  3^«t  o°e  word: 
Nothing  '    "Nothing!"    You  don't  have  to  do  any- 
thing to  be  lost.    You  are  lost  already;  if  you  do  not 
do  something,  and  do  it  quickly,  you  will  be  lost  for- 

IT\-   ?r  m^^"  ""'  '''^P'  '^  ^^  °^gl«^  so  great 
salvation  ?"    To  sum  it  all  up,  friends,  all  that  is  nTces- 

sary  to  be  lost  to-night,  all  that  is  necessary  to  brin^ 
npon  our  heads  the  awful  wrath  of  God  for  our  light 
and  contemptuous  treatment  of  a  Gospel  proclaimed  by 
death'o/n       °'"/''  '""^  P""^^^^^  ^^  t^«  atoning 
to  negll"  '""  '"'  ^^  *'^*  ''  "^^^-^  -  «-Ply 
Years  ago  in  Minneapolis,  the  leading  paper  was  the 
Minneapolis  Tribune,  published  in  a  magnificent  six  or 
seven-story  building,  the  finest  newspaper  building  at 
that  time  in  the  Northwest.    I  had  occasion  very  fre- 
quently  to  go  into  the  upper  stories  of  that  building  to 
see  editorial  friends.  There  was  one  great  defect  in  that 
great  building  which  I  had  never  noticed.    The  defect 
was  this,  that  the  stairway  went  right  round  the  elevator 
shaft,  so  that  if  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  elevator  shaft 
escape  by  the  stairway  was  cut  off  as  well.    There  was 
however,  a  fire-escape  outside.    That  very  thing  hap-' 
pened.    There  broke  out  a  fire  in  the  elevator  shaft, 
and  it  conunenced  to  sweep  up  the  shaft,  etory  by  storyi 


./-^ 


'A  STARTLING  QUESTION 


90 


catting  off  escape  by  the  elevator  and  entting  off  escape 
by  the  stairway  as  well.  But  they  had  a  brave  elevator 
hoy,  who  went  up  a  number  of  times  imtil  he  got  a 
large  number  of  men  down  from  the  upper  stories,  and 
almost  all  the  rest  escaped  by  the  fire-escape  outside  the 
building.  But  away  up  in  the  sixth  story  there  was 
a  man,  a  despatcher  for  the  Associated  Press,  which  is 
the  largest  news-gathering  agency  in  the  United  States. 
He  was  urged  to  escape,  but  he  refused  to  move.  There 
he  sat  by  his  instrument,  telegraphing  to  all  parts  of 
the  country  that  the  building  was  on  fire.  He  could 
have  gone  out  of  the  building  by  the  fire-escape,  and 
across  the  road  to  an  instrument  there,  and  could  have 
done  just  as  well ;  but,  like  a  typical  newspaper  man,  he 
wanted  to  do  something  sensational,  and  so  there  he  sat 
telegraphing  the  news.  There  had  been  a  similar  case 
above  Johnstown  in  the  time  of  the  Johnstown  flood, 
when  the  dam  of  the  river  was  breaking.  A  woman 
eat  in  a  telegraph  office  at  the  bottom  of  the  dam  tele- 
graphing down  to  the  people  at  Johnstown  that  the  dam 
was  breaking  and  that  they  had  better  flee  for  their  lives. 
But  she  sat  there,  because  duty  required  her,  until  the 
dam  burst,  and  she  was  swept  down  in  the  flood.  This 
man,  however,  sat  there  quite  unnecessarily,  merely  be- 
cause of  his  desire  for  notoriety.  "I  am  in  the  Tribune 
building,"  he  telegraphed,  "in  the  sixth  story,  and  the 
building  is  on  fire.  The  fire  has  now  reached  the  sec- 
ond story;  I  am  in  the  sixth."  In  a  little  while  he 
sent  another  message:  "The  fire  has  now  reached  the 
third  story."  Soon  he  telegraphed:  "The  fire  has 
reached  the  fourth  story;  I  am  in  the  sixth."  Soon 
again  the  message  went  over  the  wires :  "The  fire  has 


■"IT' 


100 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


reached  the  fifth  story;  I  am  in  the  sixth."    Then  he 
thought  it  was  about  time  to  leave;  but,  in  order  to  do 
this,  he  had  to  cross  the  hallway  to  a  window  to  reach 
the  fire-escape.    He  went  to  his  door  and  opened  it, 
and,  to  his  dismay,  found  that  the  fire  had  not  only 
reached  the  fifth  story,  but  the  sixth  story,  and  that 
the  hallway  was  full  of  smoke  and  flame,  which,  the 
moment  he  opened  the  door,  swept  into  the  room.    He 
shut  the  door  quickly.    What  was  he  to  do?       The 
stairway,  the  elevator  and  the  fire-escape  were  all  cut 
off;  but  he  was  a  brave  man,  and  he  went  to  the  window 
and  threw  it  up.    Down  below  stood  a  great  crowd, 
six  stories  down.    There  was  no  means  of  catching  him 
if  he  jumped,  and  he  stood  there  on  the  window  sill, 
not  knowing  what  to  do.    But  presently  he  looked  up. 
Above  his  head  was  a  long  wire  guy-rope  that  passed 
from  the  Tribune  building  to  the  roof  of  a  building 
across  an  opening.    Below  him  was  a  chasm  six  stories 
deep,  but  he  caught  hold  of  the  guy-rope  and  began 
to  go  hand-over-hand  across  that  chasm.    The  people 
down  in  the  street  looked  on  in  breathless  suspense. 
On  and  on  he  went,  and  then  he  stopped.    The  people 
below  could  hardly  breathe.    Would  he  let  go?    No. 
On  and  on  he  went,  and  again  he  stopped,  and  again  the 
crowd  below  gasped,  but  only  for  a  moment.     His 
strength  was  gone;  he  was  now  obliged  to  let  go,  and 
down  he  came  tumbling  through  those  six  stories  of 
space,  crushed  into  a  shapeless  mass  below.  All  through 
mere  unnecessary  neglect ! 

Men  and  women,  you  are  in  a  burning  building  to- 
night, you  arc  in  a  doomed  world;  but,  thank  God, 
there  is  a  way  of  escape,  and  one  way  only,  in  Christ 


A  STARTLING  QUESTION 


101 


Jesus.  No  one  knows  how  long  that  way  will  be  left 
open.  But,  I  beg  of  you,  do  not  neglect  it,  and  then 
when  it  is  too  late  lay  hold  on  some  poor  guy-rope  of 
human  philosophy,  and  go  a  little  way,  and  then  let  go 
and  plunge,  not  six  stories  down,  but  on  and  on  and  on 
through  the  awful  unfathomable  depths  of  the  gulf  of 
eternal  despair.  Men  and  women,  turn  to  Christ  to- 
night !  "How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great 
salvation?" 


ifiB 


VIII 

A  SOLEMN  QUESTION  FOR  THOSE  WHO  ARE 
REJECTING  CHRIST  THAT  THEY  MAY  OB- 
TAIN THE  WORLD. 

"What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole 
world,  and  lose  hia  own  soul?"  Mark,  viii,  36. 

That  question  ought  to  set  thinking  every  man  and 
woman  here  to-night,  who,  because  of  love  of  the  world, 
is  refusing  Jesus  Christ. 

L  Will  you  please  notice  in  the  first  place  the  two 
things  that  are  contrasted  in  the  verse  ?    The  two  things 
contrasted  are  not  the  present  and  the  future.      The 
question  is  not  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the 
present  and  lose  the  future.    That  would  be  an  impor- 
tant question.    If  a  man  were  to  gain  the  fleeting  pres- 
ent and  thereby  lose  the  eternal  future,  it  would  be  a 
very  foolish  bargain;  but  that  is  not  the  question  of  the 
text.    The  man  who  loses  his  soul  does  not  gain  the 
present.    It  is  true  he  loses  the  future,  the  eternal 
future;  but  he  does  not  gain  the  present.    The  man 
living  in  sin,  the  man  Uving  away  from  Christ,  does  not 
get  the  most  out  of  the  life  that  now  is.    He  gets  the 
least  out  of  it.    On  the  other  hand,  the  man  that  saves 
his  soul  does  not  lose  the  present.    It  is  true  that  he 
gains  the  future,  the  eternal  future;  but  he  does  not 
lose  the  present.     The  man  whose  soul  is  saved  gets 
the  most  out  of  the  life  that  now  is.    The  two  things 


A  SOLEMX  QUr^TlON" 


103 


put  in  contrast  are  these,  the  world  and  the  soul,  or 
life — the  world,  that  is,  the  tangible  world  and  all  it 
contains,  wealth,  honour,  power,  pleasure,  everything 
that  appeals  to  the  senses,  the  lust  of  the  flesh  and  tlie 
lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  vainglory  of  life  {cf.  1  John 
ii.  16).  That  is  the  world.  That  which  is  put  into  con- 
trast with  it  is  the  soul  or  life,  the  inner,  real  man.  To 
gain  the  world  is  to  get  all  the  wealth  there  is,  and  all 
the  honour  there  is,  and  all  the  social  position  thore  is, 
and  all  the  power  there  is,  and  all  the  worldly  j  leasure 
there  is.  To  lose  tho  soul  is  to  lose  your  real  manhood, 
to  fall  short  of  that  for  which  God  created  you,  to  miss 
the  divine  image,  to  have  the  divine  image  blotted  out 
and  the  image  of  the  devil  stamped  in  its  place. 

To  lose  the  soul  is  to  come  short  of  the  knowledge 
of  God,  to  lose  communion  with  God  and  likeness  to 
God,  to  "fall  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  Now  the  ques- 
tion is  this.  What  shall  it  profit  you  to  gain  all  that  this 
world  has,  all  its  wealth,  all  its  honour,  all  its  pleasures, 
all  its  power,  and  lose  your  true  selves,  lose  that  for 
which  God  created  you,  lose  communion  with  God  and 
likeness  to  God,  and  the  glory  of  God? 

II.  For  any  man  to  gain  the  whole  world  at  the  cost 
of  forfeiting  his  soul  would  be  a  bad  bargain.  If  one 
could  get  the  whole  world  by  forfeiting  his  soul,  it  would 
be  an  idiotic  exchange.    Why  ? 

1.  First  of  all,  because  the  world  does  not  satisfy. 
The  world  never  satisfied  a  human  soul.  Take  wealth. 
Was  ever  any  man  satisfied  with  wealth?  Did  any 
amount  of  money  ever  bring  satisfaction  and  lasting  joy 
to  any  man  or  woman  on  earth?  You  had 
a    man    here    in    England    a    few    years    ago   who 


104 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


was  very  successful  in  making  money.  He  made 
millions  of  pounds  sterling,  but  so  little  did 
it  satisfy  him  that  he  jumped  overboard  from 
the  deck  of  an  ocean  steamer  and  drowned  himself.  I 
remember  one  day  that  the  heir  to  one  of  the  largest 
fortunes  in  the  world  invited  me  to  dinner,  and  I  went 
to  dinner  with  him.  After  the  dinner  was  over  he  opened 
his  heart  to  me,  and  confessed  his  dissatisfaction  with 
life.  All  the  millions — and  there  were  a  great  many 
millions  that  that  young  man  was  heir  to— did  not  give 
him  satisfaction  ar^l  joy. 

Did  honour  ever  satisfy  any  man?  I  have  known 
men  and  women  in  the  highest  positions  of  honour  in 
politics  and  social  life,  in  culture  and  in  all  spheres  of 
life,  but  I  never  knew  a  man  or  woman  yet  that  was 
satisfied  with  honour.  Does  power  satisfy  any  man? 
Was  any  king  or  emperor  or  czar,  no  matter  how  large 
his  power,  satisfied  with  the  possession  of  power?  Do 
the  pleasures  of  life  satisfy  any  man?  Does  the  ball- 
room satisfy?  Does  the  card  party  satisfy?  Does  the 
theatre  satisfy?  Does  the  race-course  satisfy?  Does 
gambling  satisfy?  Is  there  any  form  of  the  world's 
pleasure  that  satisfies  the  human  soul  ?  How  mad  then 
to  forfeit  your  soul  to  gain  money,  honour,  power,  po- 
sition, glory,  pleasure,  or  anything  that  this  world  con- 
tains, when  we  know  that  they  never  satisfied  anybody. 

2,  But  in  the  second  place  it  is  a  mad  bargain  to 
forfeit  your  soul  to  gain  the  world,  because  the  world 
does  not  last.  As  the  Apostle  John  says  in  1  John  ii.  17, 
"The  world  passeth  away."  How  well  we  know  it.  Take 
wealth.  How  long  does  wealth  last  ?  With  many  a  man 
it  does  not  last  even  a  few  years.    A  man  is  a  millionaire 


mmsm 


A  SOLEMN  QUESTION 


105 


to-day,  and  by  a  turn  of  the  wheel  of  fortune  he  is  prac- 
tically penniless  to-morrow.    I  was  talking  about  a  man 
of  your  city  only  to-day  to  a  friend  of  his,  and  he  told 
me  how  wealthy  this  man  used  to  be.    But  there  was  a 
little  change  in  the  line  of  production  in  which  this  man 
was  interested,  and  your  country  ceased  to  be  the  coun- 
try that  supplied  that  market,  and  that  man's  fortune 
dwindled  from  millions  to  practically  nothing.    I  remem- 
ber when  I  was  a  boy,  one  night  we  five  children  were  in 
the  sitting-room  at  home,  and  we  asked  our  father  to  tell 
us  what  his  properties  were.    We  were  going  to  figure 
them  up  and  see  how  much  we  were  going  to  be  worth 
when  he  was  gone.    He  was  rather  amused  at  the  idea, 
and  he  began  to  tell  us  what  he  thought  he  was  worth ; 
and  when  he  told  us  of  all  the  possessions  he  could  think 
of,  we  all  of  us  added  them  up,  and  divided  them  by 
five  to  see  how  much  each  of  us  would  be  worth  when  my 
father  saw  fit  to  hand  things  over  to  us.    This  looked 
splendid  on  paper,  and  I  felt  quite  rich  that  night ;  but 
there  came  a  financial  crash  in  America  in  1873  which 
affected  :ny  father's  properties,  and  little  by  little,  by 
the  year  '77,  when  my  father  was  called  away,  practi- 
cally the  last  vestige  of  all  that  he  possessed  was  taken 
from  his  hands,  and  he  left  only  a  few  thousand  dollars. 
And  that  was  mismanaged,  and  in  a  few  months  not  a 
penny  was  left.    All  I  had  was  a  matchbox  and  a  pair 
of  sleeve-buttons,  one  of  which  I  have  lost,  and  I  don't 
k-now  what  became  of  the  other.    "The  world  passeth 
away."    I  thank  God  that  that  money  did  pass  away. 
It  was  one  of  the  best  things  that  ever  happened  to  me. 
Take  honours.    How  long  do  they  last?    I  remember 
a  man  in  our  country  who  stood  pre-eminent  among 


106 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


the  statesmen  of  America.    I  think  beyond  all  question 
he  was  the  first  statesman  of  America  of  his  day.    He 
might  have  become  President,  but  he  was  a  little  too 
much  of  a  statesman  to  become  President.   England  had 
an  unpleasant  experience  once  with  this  man's  states- 
manship, when  he  represented  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment at  the  Geneva  Commission  on  the  Alabama  claim, 
and  carried  the  day.    He  was  the  most  highly  honoured 
I  think  of  any  man  of  his  day  in  America,  but  after  a 
while  this  man  dropped  out,  and  we  almost  forgot  there 
had  been  such  a  man.    I  remember  I  was  thinking  of 
this  man  one  day,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "I  guess  So- 
and-so's  dead.    I  have  not  seen  his  name  in  the  papers 
at  all  lately,"  and  a  day  or  two  afterwards  I  saw  in 
the  papers  that  the  Hon.  So-and-so  was  living  in  such 
a  street  of  New  York,  that  he  never  went  out  in  public, 
but  sat  by  his  open  window  looking  out  upon  the  pass- 
ing crowds  and  thinking  of  his  old-time  successes.    That 
man  was  utterly  forgotten,  yet  at  one  time  he  was  almost 
the  unquestioned  leader  of  political  life  in  America. 
In  a  few  months  more  I  took  up  the  paper  and  read 
that  he  was  dead,  and  when  he  died  there  was  nothing 
said.    He  had  dropped  out  of  sight.    Honour  does  not 
last.    Take  your  most  honoured  statesmen,  whose  names 
are  in  every  mouth,  no  one  will  be  speaking  of  them  or 
thinking  of  them  a  few    years    hence.     "The  world 
passeth  away."     Suppose  honour  and  money  do  last 
imtil  a  man  dies.    How  long  will  they  last?    Twenty 
years,  thirty  years,  forty  years,  possibly  fifty  or  sixty 
years,  and  then — gone !    One  of  our  wealthiest  men  in 
America,  the  wealthiest  man  of  his  day,  died.    Two  men 
on  'Change  in  this  city.  New  York,  met  the  next  day. 


A  SOLEMN  QUESTION 


lor 


and  one  of  them  said  to  the  other,  "How  much  did  So- 
and-so  leave?"  and  the  other  one  replied,  "He  left  it 
all."  So  he  did.  Of  his  one  hundred  and  ninety-six 
millions  of  dollars  which  he  was  worth,  he  didn't  take 
one  penny  with  him. 

Pleasure,  how  long  does  it  last  ?  Take  the  ball ;  how 
long  does  the  pleasure  of  the  ballroom  last?  Some- 
where from  two  to  seven  hours ;  then  you  go  home  with 
weary  feet  and  throbbing  brain,  blaming  yourself  for 
having  been  such  a  fool.  Tlic  card  party;  how  long 
does  it  last  ?  Oh,  two  or  three  hours,  four  or  five  hours ; 
and  then  you  go  home  with  a  lighter  purse  and  a  heavier 
heart.  The  champagne  party;  how  long  does  it  last? 
A  few  hour?,  and  you  go  home  with  an  aching  head, 
a  nauseated  stomach,  thinking  what  a  fool  you  have 
been,  and  saying,  "I  will  never  be  such  a  fool  again." 
Ah,  friends,  "the  world  passeth  away." 

The  joys  of  friendship ;  how  long  do  they  last,  if  it  is 
worldly  friendship?  A  few  brief  years,  and  then  we 
look  into  the  casket  on  the  beloved  form  and  face,  and 
the  coffin-lid  is  locked  down,  and  all  is  over.  "The  world 
passeth  away."  But  the  soul  lasts.  "He  that  doeth  the 
will  of  the  Lord  abideth  for  ever."  So  T  say  that  to 
forfeit  your  soul  to  gain  the  world  is  bargain, 

for  the  world  does  not  satisfy  while  yoi.     ..e  it,  and  it 
does  not  last  at  all. 

III.  Now,  then,  if  any  one  here  to-night  could  get 
the  whole  world  as  the  price  of  selling  his  soul  it  would 
be  a  foolish  bargain ;  but  who  ever  got  the  whole  world? 
Who  ever  had  all  the  world's  wealth?  No  one.  The 
richest  man  has  but  a  small  portion  of  all  the  world's 
wealth.    Who  possesses  all  the  world's  honour?    The 


108 


RE^^VAL  ADDRESSES 


most  honoured  man  on  earth  to-day  has  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  all  the  world's  honour.  Who  possesses  all  the 
world's  pleasure?  The  greatest  devotee  of  pleasure  has 
but  a  very  small  portion  of  all  the  world's  pleasure.  Who 
possesses  all  the  world's  power?  The  mightiest  man  on 
earth  has  but  a  small  portion  of  all  the  world's  power. 
But  even  if  you  could  get  it  all,  it  would  be  a  bad  bar- 
gain ;  and  what  a  mad  bargain  to  sell  your  soul  to  get 
so  small  a  portion  of  the  world  as  any  of  you  are  get- 
ting! 

I  asked  a  man  one  night  at  a  meeting  like  this— -he 
looked  a  bright,  intelligent  fellow  for  a  man  of  his  class : 
"Why  are  you  not  a  Christian?"    He  replied,  "I  am 
deeply  moved,  and  I  would  like  to  become  a  Christian. 
You  have  made  me  perfectly  wretched.    Yes,  I  would 
like  to  become  a  Christian."   "Then  why  not  become  one 
to-night?"    He  said,  "My  business  forbids  it.    I  would 
have  to  give  up  my  position  to-night  if  I  became  a  Chris- 
tian."   I  asked  what  was  his  business  and  he  replied, 
"A  bartender."    He  didn't  look  it;  he  looked  more  re- 
spectable.   I  said,  *'W^11  you  please  tell  me  how  much 
you  get  a  week  for  tending  the  bar?"    If  I  remember 
correctly  it  was  six  dollars,  that  is  243. ;  and  that  man 
was  selling  his  soul  for  24s.  a  week.    Some  of  you  are 
selling  youi  souls  at  almost  as  cheap  a  price.    I  asked 
another  young  fellow  why  he  did  not  become  a  Chris- 
tian.   He  said,  "I  believe  in  it,  and  I  hope  I  may  some 
day.    But  I  am  in  a  business  of  my  own,  and  I  have  my 
best  business  on  the  Sabbath;  I  cannot  be  a  Christian 
and  do  Sabbath  work."    Then  I  said,  'TTou  had  better 
give  up  your  Sabbath  work."    "No,"  he  said,  "I  can- 
not do  that.    It  is  the  biggest  day's  profit  I  have  in  the 


A  SOLEMN  QUESTION 


109 


week."  And  that  man  was  selling  his  soul  for  the  profit 
of  one  day's  business  a  week. 

Why,  there  are  some  of  you  here  to-night  selling  your 
immortal  souls,  for  which  Jesus  Christ  died,  and  which 
shall  live  for  ever,  in  Heaven  and  glory,  or  in  hell  and 
phame,  for  some  single  form  of  pleasure.  It  may  be 
the  dance,  it  may  be  the  card  party,  it  may  be  the  horse 
race,  it  may  be  the  theatre,  it  may  be  some  other  form  of 
pleasure  to  which  you  are  a  slave,  and  for  one  single 
form  of  worldly  pleasure  you  are  forfeiting  your  so'  i^ 
Why,  man,  you  are  mad  1  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if 
he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?" 

Friends,  while  I  am  talking  here  to-night,  and  offer- 
ing Christ  to  you,  and  salvation  in  Him,  all  unseen  but 
none  the  less  present,  there  is  anoiuer  preacher  here  to- 
night and  thai  is  Satan.  He  stand"  right  by  some  of 
you  as  you  sit  in  yonder  pews,  and  while  I  offer  you 
Christ  and  salvation  and  life  eternal  in  Him,  Satan 
offers  you  money,  a  little  larger  income  in  your  business, 
or  the  social  position  that  he  telb  you  you  will 
have  to  forfeit  if  you  come  out  and  out  for  Clirist,  or 
some  form  of  worldly  pleasure.  He  says,  "Take  this. 
Give  me  your  souls  and  I  will  give  you  money.  Give  mo 
your  souls  and  I  will  give  you  these  pleasures  that  you 
will  have  to  give  up  if  you  become  real  Christians.  Give 
me  your  souls  and  I  will  give  you  social  position.  Give 
me  your  souls  and  I  will  give  you  the  world."  Why, 
men  and  women,  if  he  should  offer  you  the  whole  world, 
you  would  be  mad  to  accept  his  offer;  but  when  he 
offers  to  you  such  a  little  trifle — the  consummate  folly 
of  it — ^that  for  this  little  piece  of  the  world  you  forfeit 


IV 


110 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


your  soul ;  you  forfeit  life  eternal  for  a  world  that  never 
satisfies  and  does  not  last  1 

I  have  known  many  men  and  women  that  gave  up  the 
world  for  Christ,  that  gave  up  money  for  Christ,  men 
that  gave  up  much  money  for  Christ,  gave  up  high  hon- 
our for  Christ,  gave  up  social  position,  high  so- 
cial position  for  Christ,  gave  up  pleasures  that 
had  been  the  passion  of  a  lifetime  for  Christ,  but 
I  have  yet  to  find  the  first  man  or  woman  who  regretted 
it,  and  I  have  known  people  who  gave  up  Christ  for  the 
world,  and  when  the  hour  came  in  which  the  eternal 
realities  were  opening  upon  them,  they  bitterly  regret- 
ted it. 

One  day  in  New  York  City  one  of  the  wealthiest  men 
that  Ameiica  ever  produced,  the  first  man  that  estab- 
lished a  family  name  now  famous,  lay  dying,  with  all  his 
millions  in  the  bank,  and  with  all  his  railway  stock  of  no 
use  to  him.  And  as  he  lay  there,  he  said,  "Bring  in  the 
gardener."  The  gardener  was  a  godly  man,  and  when  he 
came  in  to  see  his  dying  master,  the  rich  man  said  to  the 
gardener,  "Get  down,  and  pray  for  me."  The  gardener 
did  so,  and  when  he  had  finished  his  prayer,  the  rich 
man  said,  "Sing, 

'Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy, 
Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore.' " 

Ah  men  and  women,  a  time  is  coming  when  we  shall 
no  lo-  ger  see  through  eyes  that  are  blinded  by  the  glam- 
our of  this  world ;  the  time  is  coming  when  every  man 
and  woman  here  to-night  will  have  the  scales  taken  from 
their  eyes,  and  face  to  face  with  death,  face  to  face  with 
God,  face  to  face  with  eternity,  you  will  see  as  God  sees. 
You  will  say,  "What  a  fool  1  was  to  forfeit  my  never- 


m^m 


A  SOLEMN  QUESTION 


111 


dying  eoul  to  get  the  world  that  has  not  satisfied,  and 
that  is  now  slipping  out  of  my  grip."  "What  shall  it 
profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul?" 

The  story  is  told  of  Rowland  Hill,  the  great  preacher. 
Lady  Ann  Erskine  was  passing  by  in  her  carriage,  and 
she  asked  her  coachman  who  that  was  that  was  drawing 
such  a  large  assembly.  He  replied  that  it  was  Rowland 
Hill.  "I  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  him,"  she  said ; 
*'drive  up  near  the  crowd."  Mr.  Hill  soon  saw  her,  and 
eaw  that  she  belonged  to  the  aristocracy.  He  suddenly 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  his  preaching,  and  said :  "My 
friends,  I  have  something  for  sale."  His  hearers  were 
amazed.  "Yes,  I  have  something  for  sale ;  it  is  the  soul 
of  Lady  Ann  Erskine.  Is  there  any  one  here  that  will 
bid  for  her  soul?  Ah,  do  I  hear  a  bid?  Who  bids? 
Satan  bids.  Satan,  what  will  you  give  for  her  soul? 
*I  will  give  riches,  honour,  and  pleasure.'  But  stop! 
Do  I  hear  another  bid  ?  Yes,  Jesus  Christ  bids.  Jesus, 
what  will  you  give  for  her  soul  ?  *I  will  give  eternal  life.' 
Lady  Ann  Erskine,  you  have  heard  the  two  bid?; — 
which  will  you  have?"  And  Lady  Ann  Erskine  fell 
down  on  her  knees  and  cried  out,  "I  will  have  Jesus." 
Man  and  woman,  two  are  bidding  for  your  soul  to-night, 
Satan  and  Jesus.  Satan  offers  you  the  world,  the  world 
that  does  not  satisfy,  and  that  does  not  last.  Jesus  offers 
you  life,  real  life,  eternal  life.  To  which  will  ynu 
li?ton?  ''What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?" 


IX 


EEFUGES  OF  LIES 

"The  hail  shall  sweep   away  the  refuge  of  lies." — Isaiah 
xxviii.  17. 


We  have  seen  in  a  former  address  that  every  man 
needs  a  refuge  from  four  things — from  the  accusations 
of  his  own  conscience,  from  the  power  of  sin  within, 
from  the  power  of  Satan,  and  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
Almost  every  man  has  a  refuge,  that  is,  he  has  some- 
thing in  which  he  has  put  his  trust  to  comfort  him. 
The  difficulty  with  most  men  is  not  so  much  that  they 
have  not  a  refuge,  as  that  they  have  a  false  refuge, 
a  refuge  that  will  fail  them  in  the  hour  of  crisis  and 
need ;  what  oui-  text  characterizes  as  a  "refuge  of  lies." 
It  was  just  so  in  Isaiah's  time;  the  men  of  Israel  knew 
there  was  a  coming  day  of  judgment,  and  that  they 
needed  a  hiding-place  from  that  coming  judgment  of 
God,  and  they  made    lies    their    refuge,    and  Isaiah 
— God's  messenger — proclaimed,  "the  hail  shall  sweep 
away  your  false  refuge,  the  refuge  of  lies,"  and  I  come 
to  you  with  the  same  message,  you  men  and  women 
that  have  a  refuge,  but  a  false  one.    "The  hail  shall 
sweep  away  the  refuge  of  lies." 

I.  How  TO  Dktect  a  Refuge  of  Lies. 
Is  there  any  way  in  which  we  can  tell  a  true  refuge 
from  a  false  one,  a  refuge  that  will  stand  the  test  of 
the  coming  day  of  God  from  a  refuge  that  the  hail 

ux 


REFUGES  OF  LIES 


113 


will  sweep  away?  There  are  four  tests  that  will  com- 
mend themselves  to  the  reason  and  common-sense  of 
every  intelligent  and  candid  man  here  to-night,  where- 
by he  can  tell  a  true  refuge  from  a  false  one,  a  refuge 
that  will  save  from  a  refuge  that  will  ruin;  a  refuge 
of  truth  from  a  refuge  of  lies.    The  first  test  is  this : — 

1.  A  true  Refuge  is  one  that  meets  the  highest  De- 
mands of  your  own  Conscience. — If  that  in  which  you 
are  trusting  does  not  meet  the  highest  demands  of 
your  own  conscience,  it  certainly  is  not  a  hiding-place 
from  the  accusations  of  conscience.  Furthermorv,  it 
is  not  a  hiding-place  from  the  wrath  of  God,  for  if 
our  own  hearts  condemn  us,  God  is  greater  than  our 
hearts,  and  knoweth  all  things. 

2.  Tlie  second  test  is  this :  Every  true  Refuge  is  one, 
trust  in  which  is  making  you  a  hetter  man  or  woman 
to-day.  —If  you  are  trusting  in  something  which  is 
not  making  you  a  better  man  or  woman  to-day,  it 
is  not  a  hiding-place  from  the  power  of  sin  within, 
it  is  not  a  hiding-place  from  the  power  of  Satan,  it 
is  not  a  hiding-place  from  the  wrath  to  come;  for  a 
I'efuge  that  does  not  save  you  from  the  power  of 
sin  here  on  earth,  very  certainly  will  never  save  you 
from  the  consequences  of  sin  hereafter. 

3.  In  the  third  place:  A  true  Refuge  is  one  that  will 
star'd  the  Test  of  the  Dying  Hour. — If  you  are  trusting 
'.u.  something  that  simply  brings  you  comfort  when 
you  are  well  and  strong,  but  will  fail  you  in  that 
great  hour  that  we  have  all  got  to  face,  when  we  lie 
face  to  face  with  death  and  eternity,  it  is  absolutely 
worthless. 

4.  In  the  fourth  place :    A  true  Refuge  is  one  that 


114 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


will  stand  the  Test  of  the  Judgment  Day. — If  you  are 
trusting  in  something  that  will  not  stand  the  test  of 
that  great  Judgment  Day,  when  we  have  to  pass  up 
before  the  judgment  bar  of  God  to  give  an  account 
of  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  it  is  absolutely  worth- 
less.    There  are  men  here  in  London  indicted  for 
murders  and  about  to  be  tried.     Now  suppose  you 
went  down  to  see  one  of  these  men,  and  you  found 
him  in  a  very  peaceful  frame  of  mind,  without  a  fear, 
and  you  said  to  hi    ,  "Well,  you  seem  very  cheerful 
for  a  man  charged  with  murder."    "Oh,  yes,"  he  says, 
*1  am;  I  have  no  anxiety  whatever  about  that  trial." 
And  you  say,  "What,  no  anxiety  about  it?"    "No,  none 
whatever,"  he  replies.     "Why  not?"  you  say.     "Be- 
cause," says  he,  "I  have  an  answer  to  make."    "Well, 
is  your  answer  one  that  will  satisfy  the  judge  and 
jury?"  you  ask.     "No,"  he  replies,  "I  do  not  think 
it  will  satisfy  the  judge  and  jury,  but  it  satisfies  me." 
"Why,"  you  would  say,  "what  good  is  it  if  your  answer 
satisfies  you,  if  it  will  not  satisfy  the  judge  and  jury 
before  whom  the  case  is  to  be  tried."    The  question  is 
not  whether  your  hope  satisfies  you;  will  it  satisfy 
God?    I  might  add  a  fifth  test:  will  it  stand  the  test 
of  the  Word  of  God? 

Here  then  are  the  four  tests:  first,  Is  it  meeting 
the  highest  demands  of  your  own  conscience?  second. 
Is  it  making  you  a  better  man  or  woman?  third.  Will  it 
stand  the  test  of  the  d>1ng  hour?  fourth.  Will  it 
stand  the  test  of  thp  judgment  day? 

II.    Refuges  of  Lies  Examined  and  Exposed. 
Now  we  are  going  to  apply  these  four  tests  to  the 
things  in  which  men  are  trusting. 


REFUGES  OF  LIES 


115 


1.  The  first  is  their  own  morality.  How  many  men 
in  London  there  are,  who,  if  you  go  up  and  speak  with 
them,  and  ask  them  to  come  to  Christ,  say,  "No,  I  will 
not  come ;  I  do  not  need  Him."  You  ask,  "Why  not  ?" 
And  they  reply,  "Because  I  am  a  good  man;  my  life 
and  character  are  such  that  I  do  not  feel  the  need  of  a 
Saviour,  and  I  am  trusting  in  my  life  and  character  to 
gain  acceptance  before  God."  Let  us  apply  the  tests. 
You  are  trusting  in  your  own  goodness.  Does  your  own 
goodness  meet  the  highest  demands  of  your  own  con- 
ecience?  Is  there  a  man  here  to-night  that  will  say, 
*'My  life  and  character  are  such  that  they  meet  the  high- 
est demands  of  my  own  conscience"?  Is  there  a  man 
out  of  Christ  here  to-night  who  will  say  that?  I  have 
never  met  but  two  men  who  have  said  it.  You  will  say, 
"They  must  have  been  remarkably  good  men."  No,  they 
had  remarkably  poor  consciences.  The  first  one  was  a 
man  I  once  met  while  crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  I 
approached  him  on  the  subject  of  becoming  a  Christian. 
He  said,  "I  do  not  need  any  Saviour."  I  said,  "Do  you 
mean  to  tell  me  your  life  has  b<,'en  such,  and  your  char- 
acter from  childhood  up  to  this  moment,  as  to  satisfy 
the  highest  df^^ands  of  your  own  conscience  ?"  He  said, 
"Yes,  they  '    But  so  far  from  beihg  an  exception- 

ally good  n  ne  was  the  ■  st  unpopular  man  on  the 
boat  before  we  reached  New  York  City. 

Second,  Is  trust  in  your  goodness  making  you  a  better 
man?  As  you  go  on  from  month  to  month  and  from 
year  to  year,  do  you  find  that  you  are  growing  more 
kind,  more  gentle,  more  self-sacrificing,  more  thoughtful 
of  others,  more  considerate,  more  tender,  more  humble, 
more  prayerful  ?    Now  I  have  knowi»  a  great  many  men 


116 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


who  trusted  in  their  own  goodness  but  I  have  yet  to 
meet  the  first  one  who,  while  trusting  to  his  own  good- 
ness, grew  better.  As  far  as  my  experience  goes,  these 
men  grow  hard,  grow  censorious,  grow  harsh,  grow 
selfish,  grow  more  and  more  inconsiderate  of  others, 
grow  more  proud,  and  more  bitter. 

Third,  Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour?    Oh, 
how  many  a  man  has  gone  through  life  boasting  of  his 
morality,  and  trusting  in  his  morality  to  save  him  in 
the  life  to  come;  but  when  that  dread  hour  comes,  when 
he  lies  upon  his  dying  bed  face  to  face  with  God  and 
eternity,  all  his  trust  in  his  morality  leaves  him,  in  that 
illumination  that  comes  to  the  soul  as  eternity  '"iraws 
nigh.    I  remember  a  man  in  one  of  my  pastorates  who 
was  very,  very  self-confident.     He  had  no  use  for  the 
church,  no  use  for  the  Bible,  no  use  for  Jesus  Christ. 
He  was  very  well  satisfied  that  he  was  about  the  most 
exemplary  man  there  was  in  the  community,  and  he 
needed  no  Saviour.    But  the  time  came  when  there  was 
a  cancer  eating  into  that  man's  brain.     It  was  eating 
through  the  skin,  eating  through  the  flesh,  it  was  eating 
into  the  skull,  and  eating  so  far  into  the  skull  that 
there  was  only  a  thin  film  left,  and  you  could  see  the 
throbbing  of  the  brain  underneath.     And  when  that 
man  saw  that  he  had  but  a  few  days,  and  possibly  but 
a  few  hours,  to  live,  his  trust  in  his  morality  fled,  and 
he  said,  "I  wish  you  would  go  and  call  Mr.  Torrey  to 
come  here  and  see  me."    I  came  to  the  bedside,  and  as 
he  lay  there  in  agony  he  said  to  me,  "Tell  me  what  to 
do  to  be  saved?"    I  sat  down  by  that  bed,  and  tried  to 
show  him  from  the  Word  of  God  what  he  must  do  to  be 
saved.    And  as  night  came  on  I  said  to  his  family,  "Do 


wmm 


REFUGES  OF  LIES 


117 


not  Bit  up  through  the  long  hours  of  the  night;  I  will 
stay  up  with  him,  and  perform  all  that  is  necessary." 
And  all  through  the  hours  of  the  xiight  I  sat  beside 
that  dying  man's  bed.  Sometimes  I  had  to  go  out  of 
the  room  to  get  something  for  him,  and  whenever  I 
came  back  there  was  always  one  groan  from  the  bed 
over  in  the  comer.  It  was  this :  "Oh,  I  wish  I  was  a 
Christian!  I  wish  I  was  a  Christian  I  I  wish  I  was 
a  Christian !"  And  so  he  died.  His  morality  did  not 
stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour. 

Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  Judgment  Day,  when  you 
stand  face  to  face  with  an  infinitely  holy  God  who  knows 
you  through  and  through?  Will  you  look  up  into  His 
face  and  say,  "0  God,  I  stand  here  on  my  merits,  on 
my  character  and  life !  Thou  knowest  my  life ;  Thou 
knowest  me  through  and  through;  Thou  knowest  my 
every  secret  thought  and  act;  Thou  knowest  my  life 
is  pure,  and  I  stand  here  before  an  infinitely  holy  God, 
and  am  proud  of  my  morality." 

Will  it  stand  the  test  of  God's  word?  Turn  to 
Romans  iii.  20:  "Therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law 
there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  His  sight."  Turn  to 
Galatians  iii.  10:  "For  as  many  as  are  of  the  works 
of  the  law  are  under  the  curse:  for  it  is  written, 
Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things 
which  are  written  in  the  Book  of  the  Law  to  do  them." 

2.  There  is  a  second  refuge  of  lies,  and  that  is,  trust 
in  other  people's  badness.  Some  men  trust  in  their  own 
goodness ;  other  men  trust  in  other  folk's  badness.  You 
go  to  them  and  talk  about  Christ,  and  they  say,  "Well, 
I  am  just  as  good  as  other  folks.  I  am  just  as  good  as 
A  lot  of  your  professing  Christians."    Oh,  I  know  so 


118 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


many  hypocrites  in  the  church.     Instead  of  making 
their  boast  of,  and  putting  their  trust  in,  their  own 
goodness,  they  make  a  boast  of,  and  put  their  trust  in, 
other  people's  badness.    Let  us  apply  the  tests.    Does 
that  mean  the  highest  demands  of  your  conscience? 
When  your  conscience  comes  to  you  with  its  lofty  de- 
mands, does  it  satisfy  your  conscience  to  say,  "Well,  I 
am  just  as  good  as  a  great  many  professing  Christians"  ? 
If  it  does,  you  have  a  conscience  of  a  very  low  order. 
Is  trust  in  other  people's  badness  making  you  a  better 
man?    Now,  I  have  known  a  good  many  people,  just  as 
you  have  known  them,  who  were  all  the  time  talking 
about  the  badness  of  other  people,    I  have  yet  to  meet 
the  first  one  that  grew  better  by  the  process.    Show  me 
the  man  or  woman  that  is  all  the  time  dwelling  upon 
the  badness  of  other  people,  and  I  will  show  you  a  man 
or  woman  that  is  bad  themselves,  every  time.    Show  me 
the  man  that  is  always  talking  about  another  man's 
adultery,  and  you  show  me  a  man  that  is  an  adulterer 
himself.    Show  me  the  woman  that  is  always  having  a 
suspicion  about  other  women,  and  I  will  show  you  a 
woman  you  cannot  trust.     Show  me  a  man  that  says 
every  other  man  is  dishonest,  and  I  will  show  you  a 
man  who  is  a  knave  himself.     I  once  had  a  Bible- 
class,  and  in  that  class  there  was  a  woman  who  was  in 
business,  one  of  those  women  who  was  always  talkin'' 
about  the  faults  of  others ;  and  one  day  this  woman  pro*^ 
pounded  this  question  to  me;   she  said:    "Mr.  Torrey, 
is  it  not  true  that  every  person  in  business  is  dis- 
honest ?"    I  looked  at  her  and  said,  "When  any  person 
in  business  comes  to  me  and  asks  if  every  one  in  business 
is  not  dishonest,  they  convict  at  least  one  person."    She 


mM 


EEFUGES  OF  LIES 


119 


was  angry,  but  I  was  only  telling  her  the  truth.  Show 
me  the  man  or  woman  who  is  always  dwelling  upon  the 
faults  of  Christians,  or  the  faults  of  anybody  else,  and 
I  will  show  you  a  man  or  woman  that  is  rotten  to  the 
core.  I  made  that  remark  in  my  church  when  I  was 
pastor  in  an  American  city,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting  a  lady  came  and  said  to  me,  "I  do  not  like 
what  you  said ;  you  said,  *If  you  show  me  any  man  or 
woman  that  is  always  talking  about  the  faults  of  others, 
you  would  show  me  some  one  that  was  bad.' "  "Yes,"  I 
said,  "and  I  mem  it."  "Well,  there  is  Miss  So-and-so. 
Now  you  must  admit  that  she  is  always  talking  about 
the  faults  of  others."  I  had  to  admit  that  this  was  a 
well-known  fact.  "You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  she  is 
bad  herself?"  I  did  not  answer,  for  I  did  not  care  to  be 
personal;  but  if  I  had  told  her  all  the  truth,  I  would 
have  told  her  that  that  very  week  I  had  forbidden  that 
very  woman  to  sing  in  the  choir  any  more  because  of 
certain  revelations  of  her  character  which  had  been 
made  to  me,  and  to  which  she  had  confessed. 

Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour?  When  you 
come  to  lie  on  your  dying  bed,  will  it  give  all  the  com- 
fort you  need  to  be  thinking  about  the  faults  of  others  ? 
No.  This  very  woman  who  accused  every  person  in 
business  of  being  dishonest,  who  was  always  dwelling 
upon  the  faults  of  others — ^the  time  came  for  her  to 
die ;  and  as  she  lay  dying,  the  doctor  came  in  and  said : 
"Mrs.  So-and-so,  it  is  my  duty  to  tell  you  that  you  must 
die."  The  woman  shrieked,  "I  cannot  die;  I  won't 
die;  I  am  not  ready  to  die";  but  she  did  die. 

Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  Judgment  Day?    When 
you  go  into  the  presence  of  God  to  answer  to  Him,  will 


120 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


you  look  up  into  His  face  with  the  same  confidence  as 
you  look  up  into  mine,  and  say,  "0  God,  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  have  been  very  good,  but  I  was  just  as  good  as  a 
great  many  in  the  churches"?  Will  you  do  it,  man? 
Will  you  do  it,  woman?  Ah,  the  blessed  Book  tells 
you,  in  Romans  xiv,  12:  "So  then  every  one  of  us 
shall  give  an  account  of  himself  to  God."  Not  an  ac- 
count of  somebody  else.  In  the  judgment  day  you  will 
forget  everybody  but  yourself.  In  that  judgment  day 
all  other  sin  will  vanish  but  your  sin. 

3.  The  third  refuge  of  lies  is  Universalism.  There 
are  a  great  many  men  in  every  city,  who,  if  you  approach 
them  on  the  subject  of  becoming  Christians  and  giving 
up  sin,  say,  "Oh,  no,  I  will  not  do  that;  I  believe  in  a 
God  of  Love;  I  believe  God  is  too  good  to  damn  any- 
body. A  man  does  not  need  to  forsake  sin  in  order  to 
take  Christ.  God  is  good,  and  there  is  not  any  hell.  Do 
you  mean  to  tell  me  God  would  permit  a  hell ;  that  a 
good  God  would  damn  any  one?  No,  I  do  not  need  to 
forsake  sin.  I  am  trusting  in  the  goodness  of  God,  and 
I  believe  all  men  will  at  some  time  or  other  be  saved." 
Now,  let  us  just  try  this.  Does  that  meet  the  highest 
demands  of  conscience?  When  your  conscience  comes 
to  you  and  points  out  your  sin  and  demands  your  re- 
nunciation, does  it  satisfy  your  conscience  to  say,  "Yes, 
I  am  doing  wrong,  but  God  is  so  good  I  can  just  as 
well  go  on  sinning,  I  can  just  as  well  go  on  trampling 
God's  laws  underfoot.  He  is  so  good  He  will  not  punish 
me.  He  gave  His  Son  to  die  for  me ;  I  can  go  on  sin- 
ning as  I  please"?  Does  that  satisfy  your  conscience? 
Well,  then,  you  have  a  mighty  mean  conscience.  What 
would  you  think  of  a  boy  and  girl,  brother  and  sister, 


EEFTJGES  OF  LIES 


121 


whose  mother  lies  sick  in  the  house.  The  boy  was  sick 
a  little  time  before,  and  the  mother  had  watched  over 
him  so  faithfully  and  tenderly  that  she  had  caught  his 
sickness ;  she  had  brought  him  back  to  health,  but  she 
was  lying  very  sick  and  almost  at  the  point  of  death. 
She  had  told  the  children  that  they  could  go  out  into 
the  garden,  and  said,  "There  are  some  flowers  out  there 
about  which  I  am  very  careful.  I  do  not  want  you  to 
pick  them."  So  Johnny  and  Mary  go  out,  and  Johnny 
goes  to  work  to  do  just  what  he  was  asked  not  to  do.  His 
sister  expostulates,  and  says,  "Johimy,  did  you  not  hear 
mother  tell  us  not  to  pick  those  flowera,  that  they  were 
very  precious  and  that  she  did  not  want  them  picked?" 
"Oh,  yes,"  says  Johnny.  "Then  why  pick  them?"  asks 
the  sister.  "Because,"  says  Johnny,  "she  loves  me  so, 
Mary.  Don't  you  know  how  she  loves  me,  how  when  I 
was  sick  mother  gave  up  sleep  and  everything,  and 
watched  over  me  through  the  nights  ?  Don't  you  know 
that  she  is  sick  there  now  because  she  loves  me  so  ?  And 
so  I  am  now  going  to  do  the  very  thing  she  told  me 
not  to  do."  What  would  you  think  of  a  boy  like  that, 
and  w'-at  do  you  think  of  the  man  or  woman  that  makes 
their  boast  of  the  love  of  God,  and  because  God  loves 
them  with  such  a  wonderful  love,  make  His  love  an 
excuse  Tor  sir.  —ake  God's  love  an  excuse  for  rebellion 
against  Him,  make  God's  love  a  reason  for  a  worldly 
and  careless  life  ?  I  should  think  you  men  and  women 
would  despise  yourselves.  Oh,  the  baseness  of  it;  oh, 
the  contemptible  ingratitude  of  it;  oh,  the  black- 
heartedness  of  it,  making  God's  wondrous  love,  that  gave 
Jesus  to  die  on  the  Cross  of  Calvary,  an  excuse  for 
sinning  against  Him ! 


122 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Is  your  universaliem  making  you  a  better  man  or 
woman  ?  Oh,  how  many  men  grow  careless,  grow  worldly, 
grow  sinful,  grow  indifferent,  because  somebody  has  in- 
oculated them  with  the  pernicious  error  of  eternal  hope. 
How  many  men  there  are  alive  now,  once  earnest  in  the 
service  of  God,  wno  are  indifferent  about  the  condition 
of  the  lost,  the  worldly,  and  the  careless,  because  they 
have  read  some  books  undermining,  or  trying  to  under- 
mine, the  doctrines  of  Jesus  and  the  Apostles.    With 
what  honeyed  words  the  professing  Church  to-day  is 
promulgating  the  doctrine  of  eternal  hope,  which  is  an 
infernal  lie.    Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour? 
Oftentimes  it  does  not.     Dr.  Ichabod  Spencer,  one  of 
the  mos^  able  and  faithful  pastors  America  ever  had, 
tells  how    when  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church  in 
Brooklyn,  he  was  called  to  see  a  young  man  who  was 
dying.     His  wife  and  mother  were  members  of  the 
church,  but  this  young  man  was  not.  The  doctor  went  to 
see  him,  and  tried  to  lead  him  to  Christ;  but  he  turned 
and  said,  "It  is  no  use;  I  have  had  many  chances,  but 
I  have  put  them  all  away  and  I  am  dying,  and  shall 
soon  have  to  go;  it  is  no  use  talking  to  me  now."    And 
he  was  in  great  agony  and  distress  of  soul.    Then  the 
father  came  in  and  heard  him  talking  and  groaning,  and 
he  said,  "My  boy,  there  is  no  reason  for  you  to  take  on 
so.     There  is  no  reason  for  you  to  feel  so  bad.     You 
have  not  been  a  bad  man;  you  have  nothing  to  fear." 
The  dying  young  man  turned  round  and  said  to  his 
father,  "You  are  to  blame  for  me  being  here.    If  I  had 
listened  to  mother  when  she  tried  to  lead  me  to  a  good 
life,  instead  of  listening  to  you,  I  should  not  be  in 
this  strait.    Mother  tried  to  get  me  to  go  to  Sunday 


in 


BEFUGES  OF  LIES 


123 


school  and  to  church,  but  you  said  God  was  so  good  it 
did  not  matter;  and  when  mother  tried  to  take  me  to 
church  you  took  me  fishing  and  hunting  and  pleasuring; 
you  told  me  there  was  not  a  hell,  and  I  believed  you; 
you  have  deceived  me  up  to  this  moment,  father,  but 
you  can't  deceive  me  any  longer.  I  am  dying  and  I 
am  going  to  hell,  and  my  blood  is  on  your  soul."  Then 
he  turned  his  face  to  the  wall  and  died.  Men,  you  turn 
peoplo  into  sin  by  preaching  a  doctrine  that  contradicts 
the  teaching  of  the  Son  of  God.  It  means  that  you  are 
deceiving  the  men  you  are  rocking  to  sleep  in  sin,  and 
they  will  live  to  curse  you  some  day.  And  you  men 
who  are  in  health  and  strength  are  building  upon  a 
false  hope.  Death  will  tear  away  the  veil  that  blinds 
your  eyes  to-night. 

Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  judgment  day?  When 
you  go  up  into  the  presence  of  God  will  you  look  up,  and 
when  He  asks  about  your  sin,  will  you  answer,  "I'es, 
Father,  I  did  sin;  I  did  trample  Thy  laws  under  foot; 
I  did  neglect  prayer,  neglect  the  Bible,  neglect  the 
House  of  God,  neglect  obedience  to  Thee;  I  was  worldly 
and  careless,  but  I  have  a  good  answer.  Father,  my 
ans-  :iT  is  this:  I  knew  Thou  wert  a  God  of  love,  and 
gave  Thy  Son  to  die  for  me  on  the  Cross  of  Calvary, 
and  as  I  knew  Thou  wert  so  loving,  I  just  went  on 
trampling  Thy  laws  under  foot"?  Will  you  do  that? 
It  won't  stand  the  test. 

4.  A  fourth  refuge  is  infidelity.  How  many  men 
there  are,  who,  when  asked  to  become  Christians,  turn 
and  say,  "I  do  not  believe  that  the  Bible  is  the  Word 
of  God.  That  is  an  old  superstition  that  is  worn  out. 
I  do  not  believe  that  Jesus  of  N"azareth  was  the  Son  of 


I\ 


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REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


God.    In  fact,  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  there  is  a  God. 
I  am  not  a  Christian,  and  you  can  call  me  what  you 
like.    Call  me  an  infidel,  an  agnostic,  what  you  please ; 
but  I  do  not  need  any  Christ,  and  do  not  believe  in 
Him."     He  tries  to  comfort  himself  with  infidelity. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  are  doing  this  in  London  to- 
night.    Apply  the  tests.     Does  that  meet  the  highest 
demands  of  your  own  conscience?     When  conscience 
asserts  itself,  and  comes  to  you  with  its  majestic  de- 
mands, does  it  satisfy  your  conscience  to  say,  "I  do  not 
believe  in  the  Bible  or  in  Jesus  Christ ;  I  do  not  believe 
in  God"?    Is  j'our  infidelity  making  you  a  better  man? 
I  have  yet  to  find  the  first  man  or  woman  made  better 
by  infidelity.    I  have  known  men  to  be  made  adulterers 
by  infidelity;    I  have  known  men  and  women  to  be 
made  suicides  by  infidelity;  I  have  known  men  to  be 
robbed  of  business  integrity  by  infidelity ;  I  have  known 
men  who  were  made  deceivers  by  infidelity  and  ran  away 
from  their  wives  and  went  with  other  women.    I  could 
stand  here  by  the  hour  and  tell  you  of  the  characters  I 
have  known  to  be  shipwrecked  by  infidelity.  I  have  yet  to 
find  the  first  man  that  was  made  upright  or  moral  or 
clean  by  infidelity.    I  stood  up  one  night  in  my  church 
in  Chicago.     The  church  was  full,  and  a  great  many 
infidels  were  there.    I  had  invited  them  to  be  there,  as 
I  was  talking  about  "Infidelity:     Its  Causes,  Conse- 
quences and  Cure."    I  stopped  in  my  sermon  and  said, 
**I  want  every  man  in  this  audience  to-night  that  can 
honestly  testify  before  God  and  this  audience  that  he 
has  been  saved  from  drunkenness  by  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  stand  up";  and  two  or  three  hundred 
men  stood  up  as  having  been  saved  from  drunkenness 


REFUGES  OF  LIES 


135 


by  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  I  said,  "That  will  do.  Now 
we  are  going  to  be  fair  and  give  the  other  side  a 
chance,  and  I  want  to  ask  any  infidel  in  this  audience 
to-night  that  has  been  saved  from  drunkenness  by  in- 
fidelity in  any  form  to  stand  up."  I  looked  round;  at 
first  I  thought  there  wasn't  any  one  standing  up.  At 
last,  away  under  the  gallery,  I  saw  one,  a  very  ragged- 
looking  sort  of  a  Scnegarabian,  and  he  was  drunk  at 
the  time;  that  is  an  actual  fact.  Thank  God,  he  went 
down  into  the  inquiry-room  afterwards,  and  thought  it 
over.  Men  and  women,  infidelity  undermines  character, 
infidelity  robs  men  and  women  of  purity,  infidelity 
makes  your  clerks  and  cashiers  unsafe.    You  know  it. 

Will  your  infidelity  stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour  ? 
A  great  deal  of  infidelity  does  not.  A  friend  of  mine 
who  took  part  in  the  American  Civil  War,  and  fought 
for  the  North,  told  me  a  story  about  a  man  in  his  regi- 
ment who  had  been  boasting  in  camp  of  his  unbelief. 
On  the  second  day  of  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing 
this  man  said  to  his  comrades  of  his  company,  while 
waiting  for  the  word  of  command  to  go  forward,  "I 
fear  I  am  going  to  be  shot  this  day ;  I  have  an  awful 
feeling."  "Oh,  that's  nonsense,"  they  said,  "it's  just 
a  premonition,  a  superstition,  and  there's  nothing  in  it." 
Soon  the  command  came,  "Forward !"  and  that  company 
marched  up  the  hill,  and  just  as  it  went  over  the  crest 
there  was  a  volley  from  the  enemy's  guns.  The  first 
one  sent  a  bullet  through  his  chest  near  his  heart,  and 
he  fell  back,  and  as  they  carried  him  to  the  rear,  he 
cried,  "0  God,  give  me  time  to  repent!"  It  took  only 
one  bullet  to  take  the  infidelity  out  of  him.  It  would 
take  less  than  that  to  take  the  infidelity  out  of  most 


126 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


of  you  here  to-night.  Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the 
judgment  day  ?  Will  you  go  up  into  God's  presence,  and 
when  asked  to  answer  for  your  sin,  will  you  say :  "Well, 
oh  God,  Thou  knowest  I  did  not  quite  believe  You 
existed;  I  did  not  believe  the  Bible  was  Thy  Word,  and 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  Thy  Son.  I  was  an  infidel;  that 
is  my  answer"  ?  Will  you  do  this  ?  I  wiU  tell  you  how 
to  try  it.  Go  home  to-r"ght,  and  go  down  on  your 
knees,  and  look  up  into  God's  face,  and  tell  Him  you 
are  an  infidel,  and  that  you  do  not  believe  in  Him,  or 
in  His  Son,  or  in  the  Bible,  and  that  you  are  willing 
to  stand  the  judgment  test.  I  went  down  in  a  meeting 
like  this  one  night  to  the  last  row  of  seats  at  the  back 
of  the  hall,  and  I  said  to  a  man  there,  "Are  you  a 
Christian?"  "I  should  think  not,"  he  said;  "I  am  an 
infidel."  I  said,  "Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  you  do  not 
believe  Jesus  Christ  is  divine?"  He  said,  "No,  I  do 
not."  I  said,  "Just  kneel  down  here  and  tell  God  that." 
He  turned  pale.  And  I  say  to  you  to-night  who  profess 
to  be  infidels,  "Go  and  tell  that  to  God  alone,  not  when 
you  are  trying  to  brave  it  out  in  the  presence  of  others, 
but  alone;  meet  God  alone.  Get  down  before  Him, 
and  tell  Him  what  you  tell  me." 

5.  There  is  one  more  refuge  of  lies — religion.  Re- 
ligion is  a  refuge  of  lies.  Religion  never  saved  anybody. 
You  say,  "What  do  you  mean?"  I  mean  just  what  I 
Bay — religion  never  saved  anybody.  Trust  in  religion 
is  one  thing;  trust  in  the  personal  Christ  is  another 
thing.  There  is  many  a  man  who  trusts  in  his  religion 
and  yet  he  is  not  saved.  You  go  to  men,  and  they  say, 
"Yes,  I  am  religious;  I  go  to  church  every  Sunday;  I 
read  my  prayer-book,  and  say  prayers  regularly  every 


REFUGES  OF  LIES 


137 


day;  I  read  my  Bible;  I  have  been  baptized;  I  have 
been  confirmed  or  united  to  the  Church;  I  have  taken 
the  Sacrament  regularly,  and  that  is  what  I  am  trusting 
in."  Is  it?  Then  you  are  lost.  Let  us  apply  the  tests. 
Does  your  religion  satisfy  the  highest  demands  of  your 
conscience?  Does  it  satisfy  your  conscience,  when  it 
points  out  your  sin,  to  say,  "I  go  to  church ;  I  read  tho 
Bible;  I  have  been  baptized  and  confirmed"?  Does  it 
really  give  you^  oience  peace?     Is  your  religion 

making  you  ah.  an  or  woman  ?    There  is  a  great 

deal  that  is  called  religion  that  does  not  make  men  and 
women  better.  There  is  many  a  man  who  is  very  re- 
ligious, and  goes  to  mass  or  to  church  every  Sunday  in 
the  year;  he  goes  to  Confession  very  frequently,  says 
his  prayers  regularly,  reads  his  Bible,  and  partakes  of 
the  Communion ;  he  has  been  baptized,  he  has  been  con- 
firmed, and  yet  he  is  just  as  dishonest  as  any  other  man 
in  the  community.  There  is  many  a  man  who  is  very 
religious,  and  yet  oppresses  his  employees  in  the  matter 
of  wages,  or  robs  his  servants  in  his  home.  Many  a  most 
religious  man  is  a  perfect  knave.  Such  religion  will 
not  save  him,  but  damn  him  with  a  deeper  damnation. 

Thirdly,  will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour? 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  religion  that  does  not.  How 
many  people  have  been  very  religious,  and  yet  when 
they  come  to  die  they  tremble  with  fear. 

Will  it  stand  the  test  of  the  judgment  day?  Jesus 
Christ  says  it  will  not.  In  Matthew  vii.  22,  we  read: 
"Many  shall  say  unto  Me  in  that  day.  Lord,  Lord,  have 
we  not  prophesied  in  Thy  name?  and  in  Thy  name 
cast  out  devils  ?  and  in  Thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works?" — ^that  is,  they  have  been  very  religious;   and 


I\ 


128 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Jesus  says,  "I  will  say  unto  them,  I  never  knew  you; 
depart  from  Me,  ye  that  work  iniquity."  Friends,  if 
you  have  nothing  to  trust  in  but  religion  you  are  lost ; 
it  is  a  refuge  of  lies. 

Well,  then,  is  there  any  refuge  ?  There  is.  The  verse 
before  my  text  gives  it,  Isaiah  xxviii.  16:  "Therefore 
thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a 
foundation  a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  comer  stone, 
a  sure  foundation."  That  foundation  stone  is  Jesus 
Christ.  "Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Christ  Jesus."  As  I  said  be- 
fore, it  is  one  thing  to  trust  in  religion,  and  it  is  an  en- 
tirely different  thing  to  trust  in  Christ.  Oh,  friends,  if 
your  trust  is  in  Christ  it  will  stand  the  test,  it  will  meet 
the  highest  demands  of  your  conscience.  When  my 
conscience  accuses  me  of  sin,  I  say — 

Jesus  paid  my  debt, 

All  the  debt  I  owe; 
Sin  bad  left  a  crinuoti  stain, 

He  washed  it  white  as   snow. 

"He  who  had  no  sin  was  made  sin  for  me,  that  I  might 
bo  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him.  He  Himself 
bore  my  sin  in  His  own  body  on  the  Cross";  and  that 
ealisfies  the  conscience.  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
gives  the  guilty  conscience  peace.  Trust  in  Jesus  Christ 
makes  me  a  better  man.  It  has  completely  transformed 
my  life,  my  outward  life  and  my  inward  life.  It  will 
stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour.  Oh,  how  often  I  have 
gone  to  the  room  of  the  dying  man  who  was  trusting 
in  Jesus,  and  he  has  looked  up  into  my  face  with  radiant 
confidence,  without  a  tremor  of  fear,  trusting  in  Jesus. 


REFUGES  OF  LIES 


129 


I  remember  one  day  I  was  told  that  one  of  the  former 
members  of  my  Bible  class  was  dying,  and  I  went  to  his 
house.  I  walked  in  and  he  sat  there  propped  up  in 
bed.  He  was  dying  very  fast.  I  said,  "Mr.  Pomeroy, 
they  tell  me  you  probably  cannot  live  through  the 
night."  "No,"  he  said;  "I  suppose  this  day  is  my 
last."  I  said,  "Are  you  afraid?"'  He  said,  with  a  smile 
of  perfect  peace,  "Not  at  all."  I  said,  "Mr.  Pomeroy, 
are  you  ready  to  go?"  He  said,  "I  shall  be  glad  to  de- 
part, and  be  with  Jesus  Christ."  When  Mr.  Moody 
was  facing  the  other  world  there  was  no  fear.  At  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  his  son  was  by  his  bedside  and 
heard  him  whisper,  "Earth  is  receding;  Heaven  is 
opening;  God  is  calling."  Then  later,  "Is  this  death? 
This  is  not  bad,  this  is  bliss,  this  is  glorious."  Still 
later,  some  one  began  to  cry  to  God  to  raise  him  from 
his  bed  of  sickness,  and  he  said,  "No,  do  not  ask  that. 
This  is  my  coronation  day;  I  have  long  been  looking 
forward  to  it.  Don't  call  me  back ;  God  is  calling  me." 
Oh,  friends,  a  living  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  crucified 
and  risen  Saviour,  will  stand  the  test  of  the  dying  hour. 
It  will  stand  the  test  of  the  judgment  day.  If  it  is 
the  will  of  God,  I  am  ready  to  go  and  meet  Him  at  the 
judgment  bar  to-night,  and,  when  He  asks  me  to  answer, 
I  have  but  one  answer,  the  all-sufficient  answer,  "Jesus," 
That  will  satisfy  God. 

Throw  away  your  refuges  of  lies  to-night.  The  hail 
will  soon  come  and  sweep  them  away;  "the  hail  shall 
sweep  away  the  refuge  of  lies."  Throw  them  away  to- 
night. Take  the  only  sure  and  true  refuge,  Jesus 
Christ 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION  MADE  AS 
PLAIN  AS  DAY 

"Then  he  called  for  a  light,  and  sprang  in,  and  came  trem- 
bling, and  fell  down  before  Paul  and  Silas,  and  brought  them 
out,  and  said,  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?  And  they 
Baid,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved, 
and  thy  house." — Acts  xvi.  29-31. 

The  Philippian  goaler,  by  a  train  of  circumstances, 
which  I  have  read  in  the  Scripture  lesson  to-night,  had 
been  brought  to  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
lost  sinner,  and  had  a  deep  yearning  for  salvation,  and 
he  put  to  Paul  and  Silas  this  direct  question,  "What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  and  Paul  answered  him  in  the 
words  of  the  text,  ^'Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Nothing  could  be  plainer, 
nothing  could  be  more  direct,  nothing  could  be  more 
positive  than  that.  The  way  of  salvation  is  to  believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  moment  any  man  or 
woman  or  child  really  believes  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
they  are  saved.  If  the  most  utterly  lost  man  or  woman 
in  London  should  come  into  this  hall  to-night,  and 
should  here,  or  in  the  after-meeting,  or  after  they  have 
gone  out,  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  moment  they 
did  it  they  would  be  saved.  Some  one  may  say,  "But 
this  was  a  word  simply  spoken  to  one  man ;  what  right 
have  you  to  say  that  any  man  will  be  saved  the  same 
way?"    Because  the  same  thing  is  said  over  and  over 

190 


^^,&ti^^ 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION 


131 


again  in  the  Bible.  For  instance,  you  read  in  Acts  x. 
43 :  "To  Him  give  all  the  prophets  witness  that  through 
His  name  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  shall  receive 
remission  of  sins."  There  isn't  a  man  or  a  woman  in 
this  building  to-night  that  needs  to  go  out  of  it  without 
all  their  sins  being  forgiven  and  blotted  out.  It  is  just 
one  act,  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  and  thou  shalt 
be  saved." 


I.    What  It  Means  to  Believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

What  does  it  mean  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  We 
need  to  be  very  careful  in  our  answers  to  that  question, 
for  there  are  many  answers  to  it  that  are  inaccurate  and 
untrue.  There  are  men  who  say  and  think  that  they 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  yet  they  do  not.  What 
does  it  mean  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  I  have  given 
a  very  careful  and  thorough  study  to  this  subject;  I 
have  gone  all  through  my  Bible  looking  up  the  word 
"believe,"  and  all  words  related  to  it,  and  I  have  found 
out  what  I  suspected  to  be  the  fact  w'.en  I  began,  viz., 
that  "believe"  means  in  the  Bible  just  exactly  what  it 
means  in  modern  speech.  What  is  it  to  believe  on  a  man? 
To  believe  on  a  man  means  to  put  confidence  in  him  as 
what  he  claims  to  be.  To  believe  on  a  physician  means 
to  put  confidence  in  him  as  a  physician,  resulting  in 
your  placing  your  case  in  his  hands.  To  believe  in  a 
teacher  is  to  put  your  confidence  in  him  as  a  teacher 
and  accept  what  he  teaches;  to  believe  in  a  banker 
means  to  put  your  confidence  in  him  as  a  banker  and  to 
put  your  money  in  his  bank.     And  to  believe  on  the 


[V 


182 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Lord  Jesus  means  to  put  your  confidence  in  Him  as 
what  he  claims  to  be. 

To  put  confidence  in  the  Lord  Jeaus  as  what?  As 
all  that  He  claims  to  be,  and  all  that  He  offers  Himself 
to  be.  What  does  the  Lord  Jesus  claim  to  be,  and  what 
does  He  offer  Himself  to  be? 

1.  In  the  first  place,  the  Ix)rd  Jesus  offers  Him- 
self to  every  one  of  us  as  a  Sin-bearer.  In  Matthew 
XX.  28,  He  says,  "The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  min- 
istered unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a 
ransom  for  many."  He  offers  Himself  as  a  ransom  for 
all.  That  thought  runs  all  through  the  Bible,  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  well  as  in  the  New.  If  you  want  to 
find  it  in  the  Old  Testament,  turn  to  Isaiah  liii.  6 :  "All 
we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray ;  we  have  turned  every 
one  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him 
(that  is,  on  the  Lord  Jesus)  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  If 
you  want  to  find  it  in  the  New  Testament  turn  to  1 
Peter  ii.  24:  "Who  His  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  His 
own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to  sins,  should 
live  unto  righteousness:  by  whose  stripes  ye  were 
healed."  Christ  offers  Himself  to  every  man  as  a  Sin- 
bearer,  and  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  is  to  put  con- 
fidence in  Him  as  your  Sin-bearer. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  the  Lord  Jesus  offers  Him- 
self to  us  as  a  Deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin.  He 
says  in  John  viii.  31,  "Whosoever  committeth  sin  is 
the  servant  of  sin."  And  we  all  know  that  is  true; 
for  we  have  all  committed  sin,  and  become  the  bond- 
servants of  sin,  and  no  man  is  able  to  break  away  from 
sin  in  his  own  strength.  He  says,  in  John  viii.  36,  "If 
the  Son  therefore  shall  make  you  free,  yc  shall  be  free 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION 


133 


indeed."  The  Lord  Jesus  offers  Himself  to  each  one 
of  us  as  One  who  has  power  to  set  us  free  from  the 
power  of  sin.  He  says  that  Satan  is  the  strong  man 
armed,  but  that  Himself  is  stronger  than  Satan.  To 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  is  to  put  confidence  in  Jesus 
as  One  who  has  power  to  set  you  free  from  sin. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  Christ  offers  Himself  to  us  as 
a  divinely  taught  and  absolutely  infallible  Teacher.  In 
John  xiv.  10,  He  says,  "Believe  Me  that  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me :  or  else  believe  Me  for  the 
very  works'  sake.  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you 
I  speak  not  of  Myself:  hut  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in 
Me,  He  doeth  the  N^orks."  He  offers  Himself  to  you 
as  the  Teacher  who  speaks  to  you  the  words  of  God, 
who  speaks  no  words  of  His  own ;  as  the  Teacher  who 
dwells  in  God,  and  in  whom  God  dwells,  a  divinely 
taught  and  absolutely  infallible  Teacher;  and  to  be- 
lieve on  Christ  is  to  put  confidence  in  Hi'm  as  such. 

4.  In  the  fourth  place,  the  Lord  Jesus  offers  Him- 
self to  us  as  our  Master,  who  has  the  right  to  the  entire 
control  of  our  lives.  In  John  xv.  14,  He  says,  "Ye  are 
My  friends  if  you  do  whatsoever  I  command  you."  To 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  is  to  put  confidence  in  Jesus 
as  a  Master  who  has  the  right  to  have  the  entire  and 
absolute  control  of  your  life. 

5.  Again,  the  Lord  Josus  Christ  offers  Himself  to 
us  as  a  light  and  guide.  He  says  in  John  viii. 
12,  "I  am  the  Light  of  the  world ;  he  that  followeth  Me 
shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  Light  of 
life."  To  believe  on  Jesus  is  to  put  confidence  in  Him 
as  the  Light  of  the  world,  as  the  One  to  follow  wherever 
He  leads. 


134 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSEb 


6.  And  lastly,  the  Lord  Jesus  oflfers  himself  to  us 
as  our  Divine  Lord.  He  says  in  John  xiii.  13:  "Ye 
call  me  Master  and  Lord :  and  ye  say  well ;  for  so  I  am." 
And  we  read  in  John  xx.  28,  29,  that  when  Thomas  saw 
Jesus  Chrif*^  after  His  resurrection,  and  was  convinced 
at  last  tha  le  really  was  raised  from  the  dead,  he 
throw  up  his  hands  and  said  to  Jesus,  "My  Lord  and  my 
God !"  And  Jesus  commended  Thomas  for  this  confes- 
sion, saying  to  him,  "Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen 
Me,  thou  has  believed:  blessed  are  they  who  have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  Jesus  offers  Himself  to 
us  as  our  divine  Lord.  To  believe  on  Jesus  is  to  put 
confidence  in  Him  as  our  divine  Lord. 

So,  to  sum  it  all  up,  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  put  confidence  in  Him  as  your  Sin-bearer, 
as  your  Deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin,  as  your  divinely 
taught  and  absolutely  infallible  Teacher,  as  your  Mas- 
ter, who  has  the  right  to  the  entire  control  of  your  life, 
as  your  Light  and  Guide  whom  you  will  follow  wherever 
He  leads,  and  as  your  divine  Lord.  The  moment  you 
thus  put  your  confidence,  your  absolute  confidence  in 
Jesus  Christ,  that  moment  you  are  saved.  "Believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

IL    How  Faith  ^Manifests  Itself. 

But  how  will  we  show  our  faith?  In  other  words, 
if  we  really  have  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  really  have  been  saved,  how  will  we  show  it  ? 

1.  In  the  first  place,  we  will  show  it  by  an  assurance 
that  our  sins  are  all  forgiven.  If  I  really  put  my  trust 
in  Jesus  as  my  Sin-bearer,  put  my  trust  in  Him  as  One 
who  has  borne  all  my  sin,  past,  present,  and  future,  the 


ritti 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION 


135 


moment  I  put  confidence  in  Him  aa  that,  I  know  I  don't 
bear  them  any  longer,  and  I  have  assurance  that  every 
sin  I  have  ever  committod  is  forgiven.    In  Luke  vii.  we 
read  of  a  woman  who  was  a  sinner.    She  was  an  outcast. 
But  she  came  into  a  house  whore  Jesus  was  reclining 
at  the  table,  and  men  thought  Jesus  could  be  no  prophet 
because  He  allowed  her  to  touch  Him.    But  Jesus,  when 
He  saw  her  faith,  said,  "Thy  sins  arc  forgiven,  thy 
faith  hath  saved  thee ;  go  in  peace."    WTien  that  woman 
went  out  of  that  place  she  knew  that  her  sins  were  for- 
given.   If  you  had  met  her  on  the  street  and  had  said, 
"Do  you  know  your  sins  are  forgiven  ?*'  she  would  have 
said  "Yes,  I  know  it ;  I  am  sure  of  it."    "Why  are  you 
sure?"    "Because  He  told  me  so,  and  I  therefore  know 
it."    "But  do  you  feel  it ;  do  you  feel  as  if  your  sins 
were  forgiven?"    Very  likely  she  would  reply,  "1  don't 
feel  it  yet ;  the  news  is  so  good  I  cannot  realize  it,  but 
I  am  sure  it  is  so ;  I  know  it,  for  He  said  so."    "Well," 
you  might  have  said,  "you  must  not  be  so  sure  unless 
you  feel  it."    And  she  would  have  replied,  "Oh,  I  am 
sure."    But  you  will  say,  "How  can  you  be  sure  if  you 
don't  feel  it?"    And  she  would  say,  "Because  He  said 
so." 

2.  Secondly,  if  you  have  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  it  will  show  itself  in  your  looking  to  Him  and 
trusting  Him  for  victory  over  sin.  If  you  put  confidence 
in  Him  as  the  Deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin,  you  will 
certainly  look  to  Him,  and  trust  Him  to  set  you  free 
from  the  power  of  sin.  You  will  not  say,  "^My  sins  are 
so  great  that  He  cannot  deliver  me."  You  will  not  look 
at  the  greatness  of  your  sin  at  all.  You  will  look  at  ^^g 
greatness  of  your  Saviour. 


136 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


A  man  came  to  me  one  day  in  Chicago,  and  said, 
"Mr.  Torrey,  I  want  to  speak  to  you  alone";  bo  I  took 
him  up  to  Mr.  Moody's  office — Mr.  Moody  was  away 
at  the  time.    Tie  said,  "I  want  to  tell  you  my  storv'." 
So  I  said,  "Very  well;  sit  down";  and  he  began  to  tell 
me  his  lifo-story.    He  said:    "Away  over  in  Scotland, 
when  I  was  but  seven  years  of  age,  I  started  to  read 
the  Bible  through,"  (a  good  thing  for  a  boy  to  do) 
"and  I  got  as  far  as  Deuteronomy.     Reading  there  I 
found  that  if  a  man  kept  the  whole  law  for  a  hundred 
years,  and  tlien  broke  the  law  at  any  point,  he  was  under 
a  curse.     Is  that  right  ?"  I  said,  "Well,  that  is  not  an 
exact  quotation,  but  it  is  about  the  substance  of  it." 
He  continued,  "I  was  only  a  boy  of  seven,  but  I  was 
overwhelmed   with   the   sense   that   I   was  under   the 
curse  of  God,  and  that  lasted  for  nearly  a  year.    Then 
I  got  to  the  New  Testament,  and  I  read  John  iii.  IG: 
'God  so  loveth  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begot- 
ten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish  but  have  everlasting  life.'    Then  I  saw  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  had  borne  all  my  sin,  and  my  burden  rolled 
away."    He  said,  "Was  I  converted?"  I  replied,  "That 
sounds  like  an  evangelical  conversion."    Then  he  said, 
'•IVait  a  moment ;  let  me  tell  the  rest  of  ir.y  story.  After 
some  years  I  came  to  Chicago,  and  I  am  now  working 
down   in  the  stockj-ards.     You  know  the  stockyards 
neighbourhood;  it  is  a  very  hard  neighbourhood.     I 
have  got  into  drinking  habits,  and  every  little  while  I 
fall  under  the  power  of  strong  drink.    I  try  to  ureak 
away,  but  I  cannot.    Wnat  I  have  come  to  ask  you  is 
this,  is  there  any  way  to  get  victory  over  sin?"    I  said, 
'TTou  have  come  just  to  the  right  man;  I  can  tell  you 


THE  WAY  OP  SALVATION 


137 


that."    "I  wish  you  would,"  he  said.    I  opened  my  Bible 
at  1  Corinthians  >^  .  and  I  read  the  first  four  versos: 
"Moreover,  brethren,  I  declare  unto  you  the  Gospel 
which  I  preached  unto  you,  which  also  ye  have  re- 
ceived, and,   wherein  ye   stand;    By   which   also   yc 
axe  saved,  it  ye  keep   in  memory  what   I   preached 
unto  you,  unless   ye  have  believed  in  vain.     For  I 
delivered  unto  you  first  of  all  that  which  I  also  re- 
ceived, how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to 
the  Scriptures;  and  that  He  was  buried,  and  that  f/e 
rose  again  the  third  day  according  to  i  ,<■  s.  --ptures." 
"Now,"  I  said,  "you  believed  that  Jesus  Christ  died 
for  your  sins."    He  said,  "I  did."    "You  found  peace 
in  believing."    "I  did."    I  said,  "But  you  only  believed 
half  the  Gospel,  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according 
to  the  Scriptures,  and  was  buried.    Will  you  now  believe 
the  other  half  of  the  Gospel?    Will  you  believe  that 
He  rose  againV    He  said,  "I  do  believe;  I  believe 
everything  that  is  in  the  Bible."    I  said  again,  "Do  you 
really  believe  that  Jesus  rose  again?"  and  he  said,  "I 
do."    I  said,  "Do  you  believe  what  Jesus  Christ  says 
in  Matthew  xxviii.  18,  "All  power  is  given  unto  me 
in  Heaven  and  on  earth?"    "Yes."    "Then  He  has  got 
power  to  set  you  free  from  the  power  of  sin.     Do  you 
believe  it?"    He  said,  "I  do."    I  said,  "Will  you  put 
your  trust  in  Him  right  now,  to  do  it?"    He  said,  "I 
will."    "All  right,"  I  said,  "let  us  kneel  down,"  and 
then  I  prayed,  and  he  followed  with  a  prayer  some- 
thing like  this:    "Oh  God,  I  believed  that  Jesus  died 
for  my  sins  on  the  Cross,  and  I  found  peace  through  be- 
lieving, and  now  I  believe  that  Jesus  rose  again,  and 
that  He  has  all  power  in  Heaven  and  on  earth,  and 


138 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


He  has  got  power  to  set  me  free  to-day.  Lord  Jesus, 
set  me  free  from  the  power  of  drink  and  the  power  of 
sin."  When  he  had  prayed,  I  said  to  him,  "Will  you 
trust  Him  to  do  it?"  He  said,  "I  will,"  and  he  did. 
In  a  few  weeks  I  received  a  letter  from  that  man  in 
which  he  said,  "I  am  so  glad  I  came  over  to  see  you. 
It  worTcs!" 

Christ  not  only  died,  but  He  rose  again,  and  is  a 
living  Saviour  to-night.  He  has  all  power  in  Heaven 
and  on  earth,  and  the  devil  is  no  match  for  Him ;  the 
risen  Christ  has  power  to  snap  the  fetters  of  strong 
drink,  to  snap  the  fetters  of  opium,  to  snap  the  fet- 
ters of  lust,  and  of  every  sin;  and  if  you  will  trust 
Him  to  do  it  for  you.  He  will  do  it.  To  believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  means  to  look  to  Him  und  trust 
Him  to  give  you  victory  over  sin. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  it  will  show  iti=clf  in  your 
Unquestioning  acceptance  of  the  infallible  and  absolute 
truth  and  authority  of  everything  Jesus  says. — If  I  put 
confidence  in  Josus  as  a  divinely  taught  and  absolutely 
infallible  Teacher,  whatever  I  find  in  the  Bible  that 
Jesus  says,  I  will  believe  it.  I  may  not  understand  it, 
it  may  seem  impossible,  and  the  scholars  may  be  against 
me,  but  I  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  what  He  says 
I  accept  absolutely  in  all  its  height,  depth,  length,  and 
breadth.  Many  people  to-day  claim  to  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,  but  if  they  find  Jesus  teaching  one  thing, 
and  men  tell  them  that  the  consensus  of  the  latest 
scholarship  teaches  something  else,  they  accept  the  con- 
sensus of  the  latest  scholarship,  and  throw  overboard 
the  teaching  of  Christ.  Gentlemen,  I  affirm  that  those 
men  do  not  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus.    They  believe  in 


mmm 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATIOX 


139 


"the  consensus  of  the  latest  scholarship,"  and  helieving 
in  the  consensus  of  the  latest  scholarship  never  saved 
any  one.  It  has  ruined  many.  How  can  you  say  you 
believe  in  Jesus  if  you  don't  believe  Him?  Belief  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  means  to  put  confidence  in  Him,  to  put 
absolute  confidence  in  Him,  as  what  He  claims  to  be; 
and  He  claims  to  be  a  divinely  taught  Teacher,  that 
speaks  only  the  words  of  God. 

It  is  a  critical  time  in  which  we  live,  and  the  ques- 
tion is,  shall  we  believe  German  scholarship  so  called, 
or  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  Well,  in  answer  to  that 
question,  I  say  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  stood  for 
nineteen  centuries,  and  German  scholarship  never 
stands  for  fifteen  years  consecutively;  and  I  prefer  to 
believe  the  Lord  Jesus. 

4.  Our  belief  in  Him  will  be  shown  by  studying  Ilis 
Word. — If  I  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  I  shall  study 
His  word  over  and  over  again.  Suppose  some  man 
should  come  to  London  claiming  to  be  a  divinely  taught 
and  absolutely  infallible  teacher,  and  that  you  believed 
in  him.  Would  you  not  read  every  word  that  he  uttered  ? 
We  have  a  man  in  America  who  claims  not  only  to 
be  a  divinely  taught  and  absolutely  infallible  teacher, 
but  a  messenger  sent  direct  from  God.  Suppose  I  be- 
lieved he  really  was  a  teacher  sent  from  God,  I  would 
study  every  word  he  said,  as  hundreds  do  in  Chicago. 
They  spend  more  time  reading  his  words  than  they  do 
reading  their  Bibles.  Just  so,  if  I  believe  in  Jesus  as 
what  He  claims  to  be,  a  divinely  taught  and  absolutely 
infallible  Teacher,  what  I  shall  study  above  all  else  will 
be  the  words  of  Jesus  Himself. 

5.    Faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  show  itself 


140 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


by  a  surrender  of  the  entire  life  to  His  control. — 
If  I  put  confidence  in  Jesus  as  what  He  claims  to  be — 
my  Lord,  having  right  to  the  absolute  control  of  my 
life — I  will  put  my  whole  life  in  His  control.  Have 
you  done  it  ?  You  say  you  are  a  Christian,  you  believe 
iu  the  Lord  Jesup  Christ.  Are  you  proving  it  by  put- 
ting your  entire,  life  in  His  control. 

6.    In  the  next  place,  you  will  show  yoxir  belief  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  obedience  to  Him  in  daily 
life,  in  whatever  He  tells  you  to  do. — In  Luke  vi.  46, 
He  says,  "Why  call  ye  Me  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the 
things  which  I  say?"    I  believe  He  is  saying  the  same 
thing  to  the  Christians  of  London,  the  professing  Chris- 
tians.   You  call  Him  "Lord,  Lord,"  every  Sabbath  day 
in  your  lives  and  then  you  go  through  every  day  of  the 
week  living  just  as  He  tells  you  not  to  live,  and  you 
refuse  to  do  what  He  plainly  tells  you  to  do.    Now  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  was  here  on  earth  and  healed  men.  He 
demanded  faith  as  a  condition  precedent  to  healing,  and 
He  demanded  that  they  should  show  their  faith  by  their 
acts.    He  demands  faith  to-day  as  a  condition  precedent 
to  salvation,  and,  having  been  saved,  He  demands  that 
you  show  your  faith  by  your  acts,  that  you  do  what  He 
tells  you.    That  makes  some  of  you  look  very  uncom- 
fortable.   I  am  glad  of  it;  it  is  a  good  sign.    Some  of 
you  professed  Christians  need  to  be  brought  under  con- 
viction of  sin.    You  have  been  praying  that  outsiders 
may  be  convicted  of  sin,  but  a  whole  lot  of  you  need  to 
be  convicted  of  sin  yourselves;  and  when  you  get  con- 
victed of  sin  more  of  the  outsiders  will  be  convicted  of 


Bin. 


7.    Faith  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  show  itse'f 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATIOTT 


141 


again  in  following  Uim  wherever  He  leads. — ^If  I  put 
confidence  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Light  of  the  World, 
I  will  follow  Him  that  I  may  "not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  have  the  Light  of  Life."  "He  that  saith  .e  abideth 
in  Him  ought  himself  so  to  walk  even  as  he  walked." 
Are  you  following  in  His  steps,  in  your  business,  in 
your  social  life,  in  your  personal  life,  in  your  indi- 
vidual life  everywhere? 

8,  Belief  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Ch  ist  will  show  itsolf  in 
confessing  Him  before  the  world,  and  in  witnessing  for 
Uim  to  men. — We  read  in  Romans  x.  9,  10:  "If  thou 
shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  Jc  us  as  I>ord,  and  shalt 
believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  raised  Him  from  the  dead, 
Ihou  shalt  be  saved.  For  with  the  heart  man  believeth 
"•ato  righteousness;  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is 
made  unto  salvation." 

I  received  a  letter  to-day  from  a  man  who  said  it  was 
a  very  hard  thing  to  expect  people  to  stand  up  to  con- 
fess Christ  in  the  way  I  ask  them  to,  and  he  went  on 
to  tell  me  an  easier  way  to  get  at  it.  But  I  am  not 
looking  for  an  easier  way.  I  abominate  these  easy  ways. 
I  believe  in  getting  people  converted.  I  could  pass 
around  cards  and  get  them  to  sign  their  names,  saying 
that  they  hoped  to  go  to  heaven;  but  a  month  after 
I  had  gone  the  effect  would  be  nothing,  or  worse  than 
nothing.  I  do  not  take  any  stock  in  any  faith  that  does 
not  lead  to  an  open  confession  of  Christ  before  the  world, 
and  I  do  not  take  any  stork  in  the  Christianity  of  your 
professed  Christians  unless  it  leads  you  to  go  out  into 
the  world  and  witness  for  the  One  who  saved  you.  "Out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh." 

Now  I  put  to  you  a  question.    Do  you  believe  on  the 


mf 


142 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Lord  Jesus  Christ?  You  thought  you  did  when  you 
came  in,  but  do  you?  I  asked  God  in  my  prayer  that 
He  would  sweep  away  false  hopes  to-night.  Do  you  be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  It  is  one  thing  to  say 
you  believe,  and  another  thing  to  believe.  If  you  do 
not,  will  you  l)elieve  on  Him  now,  this  moment  ?  Will 
you  put  confidence  in  Jesus  Christ  this  moment  as  your 
Sin-bearer,  as  a  Deliverer  from  the  power  of  sin,  as 
a  divinely  taught  and  cb;  olutely  infallible  Teacher,  as 
the  Lord  who  has  the  right  to  the  absolute  control  of 
your  lift,  as  the  Light  of  the  World,  as  your  Divine 
Lord?  Will  you  do  it?  It  takes  but  one  instant  to  be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  can  be  done  in  a 
moment.  But  it  will  take  a  whole  lifetime  to  show  that 
you  have  believed  on  Him  after  you  have  done  it.  The 
act  of  faith  in  instantaneou.;,  the  fruits  of  faith  are  life- 
long. Will  you  put  your  trust  in  Him  to-night?  If 
you  do,  the  results  will  follow,  and  if  you  never  did  it 
before,  you  can  do  it  now.  You  can  do  it  before  Mr. 
Alexander  sings. 

And  YOU  men  and  women  who  never  professed  to  be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will  you  put  your  con- 
fidence in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  now  ?  The  moment  you 
do  it,  you  will  be  saved.  I  will  tell  any  man  or  woman 
who  is  utterly  unsaved,  that  in  the  next  moment  you 
may  be  saved.  I  will  tell  any  man  or  woman  who  is 
utterly  unsaved,  who  wishes  to  flee  from  underneath 
the  wrath  of  God  and  come  underneath  the  full  sun- 
light of  God's  favour,  that  you  can  do  it  in  an  instant. 
How?  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  put  confidence 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  what  He  claims  to  be.  If 
the  vilest  outcast  in  London  should  be  in  this  room 


THE  WAY  OF  SALVATION 


143 


now  and  should  here  and  now  put  confidence  in  Jesus 
as  all  He  claims  to  be,  the  moment  he  did  it  God  would 
blot  out  all  his  sin,  and  set  to  his  account  all  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ;  and  set  him  free  from  the  power 
of  sin,  and  transform  him  into  a  child  of  God.  Old 
things  in  a  moment  would  pass  away  and  all  things 
would  become  new.  Oh,  the  miracle  of  regeneration ! 
I  have  seen  a  man  one  moment  a  drunkard,  half  drunk 
at  the  time,  get  his  eyes  open  enough  to  see  the  truth 
about  the  Lord  Jesus  and  put  his  trust  in  Him,  and 
the  next  moment  I  was  looking  into  the  eyes  of  a  child 
of  God. 

One  night  in  Chicago,  in  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission, 
there  came  in  a  poor  fellow,  a  complete  physical  and 
moral  wreck.  He  had  been  in  a  railroad  accident  and 
was  a  total  cripple,  helpless  on  both  feet,  dragging  him- 
self along  on  crutches.  For  fourteen  years  he  had 
been  a  victim  of  whisky  and  alcohol  in  all  its  forms,  an'' 
of  opium  as  well.  Ho  was  an  opium  fiend  and  an  aLo- 
hol  fiend.  My  friend  Colonel  Clark  spoke  to  him  and 
told  him  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  he  refused  to 
believe.  But  on  La  Salle  street,  on(>  of  our  busiest 
commercial  streets,  next  da.^  Colonel  Clark  saw  this 
pame  man  dragging  himself  along  on  his  crutches,  and 
as  he  got  to  the  entrance  of  an  alley-way,  Colonel  Clark 
drew  him  into  the  alley-way  and  said  to  him,  "My 
friend,  Jesus  has  power  to  save  you,"  and  after  talking 
to  him  a  while,  there  and  tlion  t'.a  man  got  down  as 
best  he  could  on  his  crutches,  beside  the  strong  man  of 
God,  and  put  his  trust  in  Jesus  Christ.  And  when  that 
man  came  out  of  that  alley-way  he  came  out  a  child  of 
God,  and  he  is  to-day  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.    Thank 


144 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


God  for  a  Gospel  that  can  save  anybody.  You  cannot 
find  me  a  man  in  all  London  that  Jesus  Christ  has  not 
power  to  save  if  he  will  only  believe  on  Him.  Put 
confidence  in  Him.  Will  you  believe  on  the  lord  Jesus 
CJhrist  to-night? 


tmm 


XI 


WHAT  IT  COSTS  NOT  TO  BE  A  CHRISTIAN 

"I  thought  on  luy  ways,  and  turned  my  feet  unto  Thy  testi- 
monies."— Psalm  cxix.  59. 

A  good  many  years  ago  I  was  talking  to  a  young  so- 
ciety lady  in  the  citj-  of  New  Haven  in  America,  and 
suddenly  she  stopped  me  and  said,  "Don't  talk  that  way ; 
it  makes  me  think,  and  I  hate  to  think."  The  world 
is  full  of  people  who  hate  to  think,  and  because  they 
hate  to  think  they  go  into  things  blindfolded,  and  come 
out  with  blighted  hope  and  broken  hearts  and  blasted 
lives.  It  is  so  in  business.  How  many  a  business  man 
there  is  in  this  city  to-night  who  a  few  years  ago  had 
a  business  proposition  made  to  him,  and  instead  of  sit- 
ting down,  as  any  long-headed  business  man  would  do, 
and  thinking  it  all  over,  and  figuring  it  all  out  as  to 
how  much  money  he  would  have  to  put  into  that  invest- 
ment before  he  realized,  how  many  years  it  would  be 
before  there  was  any  adequate  return,  and  what  inter- 
est on  his  money  there  would  be,  just  because  it  prom- 
ised well  on  the  surface  he  accepted  the  proposition 
without  sufficient  thought  regarding  it,  he  just  put  his 
money  into  that  project  and  left  it  there,  and  that  man's 
life  ever  since  has  been  a  wretched  drag  for  a  bare 
existence.  Simply  because  he  hated  to  think!  It  is 
the  same  way  in  social  life.  How  many  a  young  woman 
has  met  at  some  social  gathering  a  handsome,  attractive 

us 


146 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


young  man,  a  young  fellow  of  pleasant  manners,  who 
knows  how  to  do  a  thousand  and  one  little  acts  that 
mean  so  little  and  yet  so  easily  gain  the  hearts  of  women, 
a  young  fellow  who  is  a  ^ne  waltzer,  and  popular  and 
attractive  in  all  his  ways;  and  one  night  that  young 
man  makes  a  proposal  of  marriage  to  her,  and  instead 
of  sitting  down,  as  any  sensible  girl  would  do,  and  ask- 
ing herself  whether  that  man  his  the  mental  and  moral 
qualities  that  fit  him  to  be  a  companion  for  life,  just 
because  he  is  handsome,  because  he  is  attractive  and 
popular,  because  he  is  a  beautiful  waltzer,  that  young 
woman  accepts  his  proposal  of  marriage  and  marries 
him ;  and  after  a  few  months  she  wakes  up  one  day  to  find 
that  she  has  married  a  fool,  or,  what  is  worse,  a  rascal. 
And  all  that  woman's  future  life  is  wretched  beyond 
description,  just  because  she  hated  to  think.  But  there 
is  no  place  where  that  mistake  is  made  so  often  and 
where  it  is  so  fatal  as  in  the  matter  of  being,  or  not 
being  a  Christian.  Men  and  women  go  into  a  Christ- 
less  life,  or,  being  in  a  Christlcss  life,  drift  on  in  it, 
without  even  once  sitting  down  to  give  the  question 
thirty  minutes'  honest  consideration,  What  it  Costs  to 
Live  and  Die  without  Jesus  Clirist.  Now  I  am  going 
to  ask  you  to  do  some  thinking  to-night,  some  hard, 
serious,  honest  thinking.  What  I  am  going  to  ask  you 
to  think  about  is  this:  what  it  costs  not  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, what  it  costs  to  live  and  die  without  Jesus  Christ. 
And  if  when  I  get  through  you  think  you  are  willing  to 
pay  the  price  of  a  Christless  life,  I  have  nothing  more 
to  say.  But  if,  when  you  have  thought  it  all  out,  you 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  costs  too  much  to  live  and 
die  without  Christ,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  do  the  only 


an 


WHAT  IT  COSTS 


147 


intelligent  thing  there  is  to  do  in  the  circumstancee, 
that  is,  to  stand  up  here  to-night  and  declare  your  pur- 
pose to  accept  Jesus  Christ  right  now. 

What  does  it  cost  not  to  be  a  Christian?    First  of 
all,  what  is  it  to  be  a  Christian?    By  a  Christian,  I 
understand,  any  man,  woman,  or  child,  that  comes  to 
God  as  a  lost  sinner,  takes  Jesus  Christ  as  their  per- 
sonal Saviour,  surrenders  to  Him  as  their  Lord  and 
Master,  confesses  Him  as  such  publicly  before  the  world, 
and  strives  to  live  to  please  Him  in  everything  day  by 
day.    Let  me  repeat  that  definition.    A  Christian  is  any 
man,  woman  or  child  that  comes  to  God  as  a  lost  sin- 
ner, takes  Jesus  Christ  as  their  personal  Saviour,  sur- 
renders to  Him  as  their  Lord  and  l\Iaster,  confesses 
Him  as  such  publicly  before  the  world,  and  strives  to 
live  to  please  him  in  everything  day  by  day. 
What  does  it  cost  not  to  do  it? 
1.    In  the  first  place,  not  to  he  a  Christian  costs  the 
sacrifice  of  peace. — A  Christian  has  peace:     "Being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."— Romans,  v.  1.    And  having  peace 
with  God  we  have  peace  in  our  hearts,  but  no  man  out 
of  Christ  has  peace.    "Tlicre  is  no  peace  for  the  wicked, 
saith  my  God."    One  night  in  Chicago,  after  a  meeting 
like  this,  when  the  congregation  had  gone  out,  I  went 
and  sat  down  in  a  seat  by  the  side  of  a  gentleman  about 
thirty-five  j-ears  of  age,  and  I  said,  "My  friend,  why 
are  you  not  a  Christian?"  "Oh,"  he  said,  with  a  shrug 
of  his  shoulders,  "I  am  very  well  satisfied  as  I  am." 
I  said,  "You  haven't  peace."    He  said,  "How  do  you 
know  that?"    I  said,  "Because  God  says  so;  There  is 
no  peace  for  the  wicked,  saith  my  God.'"    The  man 


148 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


dropped  his  head,  and  said,  "You  are  right,  sir,  I 
haven't  peace."  And  there  is  not  a  man  or  woman 
in  this  audience  to-night  out  of  Christ  that  has  peace. 
Money  won't  give  you  peace;  the  pleasures  of  this  life 
won't  give  you  peace ;  no  number  of  good  earthly  friends 
will  give  you  peace ;  not  to  be  a  Christian  costs  the  sac- 
rifice of  peace. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  not  to  he  a  Christian  costs 
the  sacrifice  of  the  highest,  deepest,  purest,  holiest,  most 
overflowing  joy  that  can  be  known  right  here  on  car'^i . 
— As  we  read  in  the  Scripture  lesson  to-night,  v  . 
Peter  i.  8 :  "Though  now  ye  see  Him  not,  yet  belie  Jg 
in  Him  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory."  That  was  Peter's  testimony.  That  is  the  ex- 
perience of  every  true  Christian.  A  real  living  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  gives  a  man  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory.  Nobody  out  of  Christ  has  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory.  "Oh,"  but  you  say,  "I  know  many  a 
Christian  that  he  aot  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory." 
A  real  Christian?  You  know  there  are  two  kinds — pro- 
fessing Christians  and  real  Christians.  Now  I  will  admit 
that  there  are  a  great  many  people  in  the  world  that 
call  themselves  Christians,  who  have  just  enough  re- 
ligion to  make  themselves  miserable.  They  are  holding 
to  the  world  with  one  hand,  generally  the  right  hand, 
and  to  Jesus  Christ  with  the  other.  Of  course  they 
have  not  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  But  show 
me  a  Christian  who  has  dropped  the  world  with  both 
hands,  and  laid  hold  of  Jesus  Christ  with  both  hands, 
and  I  will  show  you  a  man  or  woman  that  has  joy  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory,  every  time.  But  nobody  out 
of  Christ  has  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.    How 


tmm 


^ 


WHAT  IT  COSTS 


149 


Satan  deceived  me  along  that  line  for  many  years  when 
I  was  a  mere  lad !    I  went  one  day  up  to  the  third  story 
of  our  home,  where  we  had  a  great  store-room  where 
we  put  away  the  old  books  out  of  the  library,  and  as  a 
boy  I  loved  to  go  and  sit  on  the  floor  of  that  room, 
and  get  the  books  around  me  and  look  through  them, 
and  one  day  I  camt  across  the  covenant  of  the  church 
of  my  mother,  and  commenced  to  read  it,  and  I  said 
to  myself,  "I  wonder  if  I  cannot  be  a  Christian?"    I 
can  say  "Yes"  to  that,  and  can  say  "Yes"  to  that,  and 
that,  and  after  a  time  I  came  to  a  place  where  it  said 
something  to  this  effect,  "If  I  became  a  Christian  I  was 
to  be  willing  to  do  anything  God  said,  and  go  anywhere 
He  said."    I  shut  up  the  hoc     and  said,  "No,  just  as 
likely  as  not  I'll  have  to  be  a  preacher  if  I  say  'Yes' 
to  that,  and  then  life  won't  be  worth  living."    And  I 
threw  that  book  away  and  deliberately  refused  to  take 
Jesus  Christ,  and  deliberately  refused  to  think  about  it 
any  more.    Then  I  said  io  myself,  "I  am  going  in  for 
all  the  pleasure  I  can  get" ;  and  I  had  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  get  it.    Jiy  father  was  well  off  in  this  world's 
goods;  and  as  a  boy  of  fifteen  I  was  sent  off  to  the 
university  and  matriculated  for  a  degree,  and  my  father 
sent  me  up  all  the  money  I  wanted.    Now,  if  you  put  a 
boy  into  a  university,  who  learns  easily  and  has  no  trou- 
ble to  keep  up  with  his  class,  a  boy  with  a  rich  father, 
who  does  not  ask  him  how  he  spends  his  money — I  have 
often  thought  it  would  have  been  a  good  thing  for  me 
if  he  had — if  anybody  can  have  a  good  time,  he  can, 
and  I  went  in  for  a  good  time.    Did  I  find  it?    You 
know  whether  I  did  or  not.    I  did  not.    And  I  went 
deeper,  deeper,  deeper,  deeper  into  dissipation  and  sin 


.'•^^^ 


150 


ilEVlV.L  ADDRESSES 


to  find  joy  to  satisfy  my  tinrcstisficd  heart.  I  did  not 
find  it,  and  one  awful  night,  a  mere  boy  still,  with  all 
hope  gone,  with  life  desolate  .nul  bare,  life  so  barren 
that  there  was  just  one  step  1  twecn  me  and  hell,  in 
fact,  that  very  night  I  started  to  take  that  awful  step, 
to  take  my  life  by  my  own  hand.  I  sprang  out  of  bed 
and  drew  open  a  drawer  to  take  out  the  inst'imiont  that 
would  end  my  life.  For  some  re  ^on  or  otiior  I  could 
not  find  it.  God  did  not  let  me  lind  it,  and  I  dropped 
upon  my  knees,  and  said,  "0  God,  if  you  will  take  this 
awful  burden  from  my  heart,  I  will  preach  the  Gospel ;" 
and  God  not  only  removed  the  burden,  I  found  a  joy  I 
had  never  dreamed  of  in  this  worl'l,  and  all  the  years 
since  it  has  gone  on  increasing,  witli  the  exception  of  a 
short  time  when  I  fell  under  the  blighting  power  of 
scepticism  and  agnosticism ;  all  the  rest  of  the  time  all 
these  years  the  joy  has  grown  brighter,  brighter,  brighter 
every  year.  Young  men  and  women,  if  you  want  the 
deepest,  sweetest,  purest,  most  overflowing  joy  there 
is  to  be  known  on  earth,  come  to  Jesus  (.'hrist. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  not  to  be  a  Christian  costs 
the  sacrifice  of  hope.  A  Christian  ha<  hope. — As  we 
read  in  Titus  i.  2,  "In  hope  of  eternal  to,  which  Go(L 
that  cannot  lie,  pmrnised."  Oh,  how  i  ..i,  nificcnt  tha 
hope  is,  hope  of  ei«-rnal  life!  How  ^ure  il  is,  resting 
on  the  Word  of  God,  who  cannot  lie.  The  wor^  1  ha.s 
no  hope  like  that.    The  world  ho  t  no  h<  '"   that 

has  any  foundation.    Hope  for  the  f  viare  is  '  u     im- 
portant than  present  possession.    "Oh     son^      ne    ^vs, 
"I  do  not  believe  that;  give  me  the  p    =!ent  ai; '  ^       ' 
let  the  future  take  care  of  itself."    Y      y  m  do  * 
it.    There  is  not  a  man  or  woman  here  to  'aght        i; 


■Ki 


WHAT  IT     OSTS 


151 


docs  not  bcliev*   that  hope  foi     lie  f      re  u    .ore  im- 
portant than  present  pf  session      A     lan  sa  s  "I  do 
not  b.  'ieve  u."    fes,  you  lo;  I    all  prove  it       you  in 
five  minutes.     S  ippo?.    you  ha.    your  choice  .o-night 
between  l)«in^  a  mil!       lire  and  .  aving  all  that  monoy 
c.n  buy  for  tonight    wth  no  hope  for  to-morrow,  but 
with   ihp   rising   of    ro-niorrow's  sun   and  the  open- 
ing of  I    morrow's  i)nnk8  to  be  proved  to  be  an  embez- 
zler, .md  ..:i  >our  moi.ey  swept  away,  and  you  ^ast  into 
prison  to  speir^  the  rest  of  your  life  there;  or  t     be 
iibsolutelv   peniiile>^   f >r    hi,  but  with  the   abs(^      '^ 
wrtainiy  that  will  the  i      ig  of  to-morrow's  sun  a- 
[he  open  !!g  of  to-morrow's  oanks  you  were  to  be      • 
li„naire   ^U  the   rest  of  your  life,  which  wou         >tt 
clii    ^e?       Oh!"  vou  say.  "that's  very  ea=   :  T        uld 
hoose  to  t"   pen.   less  -o-night,  with  the  c^     ii-       ; 
!  vmorrot^-  .    1  al    ^he  rest  of  my  life  I  was  i         a  mil- 
lionaire." "uld  I.  but  that  only  shows  inat  you 
believe  that  h  ;j)e  for  the  future  is  more  important  than 
present  popsession;  and  I  would  rather  be  t  e  poorest 
child  of  God  in  the  world  to-night,  with  th'  a      '  ute  cer- 
tainty that  with  the  dawning  of  eternity  1   -     lo  be  for 
all  eternity  an  heir  of  God  and  joint-heii  with  Jesus 
Christ,  than  to  be  the  richest  man  on  earth  to-night 
out  of  Christ,  with  no  outlook  for  all  eternity  but  to  be 
cast  into  God's  eternal  prison-house  of  hell.     A  ma- 
out  of  Christ  has  no  hope,  even  from  the  life  that  now 
ip,  that  is  at  all  sure.    You  say,  '-That  is  too  strong; 
a  man  out  of  Christ  may  have  no  hopf   '  r  the  future, 
but  if  he  is  rich  he  has  for  the     -esen'    ife."    You  are 
mistaken.    Come  with  m^^  *    ^^'^  York  City.    We  walk 
up  Fifth  Avenue;  we  stop  before  one  of  the  most  eie- 


162 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


gant  mansions  there ;  we  go  up  the  steps  and  are  ushered 
through  the  hall  down  to  the  library  at  the  end  of  the 
halL  You  and  I  stand  there  on  the  threshold  and  look 
into  the  library.  In  it  there  are  two  men  deep  in  earn- 
est conversation.  This  is  not  an  imaginary  case,  but  an 
actual  one.  One  of  these  men  is  worth  one  hundred 
and  ninety-six  millions  of  dollars,  by  an  actual  inven- 
tory of  his  property  taken  a  few  days  after  the  time  of 
which  I  am  speaking.  The  other  man  is  one  of  Amer- 
ica's greatest  financiers.  You  and  I  stand  there  and 
look  in,  and  you  say,  "Well,  I  would  like  to  be  in  that 
man's  shoes.  One  hundred  and  ninety-six  million  dol- 
lars !  I  do  not  know  an3rthing  about  his  religious  con- 
victions, I  do  not  know  anything  about  his  eternal 
prospects,  but  he  is  well  fixed  for  many  years  to  come 
so  far  as  this  life  is  concerned."  You  are  mistaken. 
While  you  and  I  are  looking  in,  that  man  falls  out  of  hig 
chair  on  his  face  on  the  floor,  and  when  Quincey  Gar- 
rett picks  Wm.  H.  Vanderbilt  from  the  floor  he  is  a 
corpse.  For  all  his  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  millions 
he  had  no  hope  for  five  minutes.  Friends,  we  all  of  us 
here  to-night  are  like  men  standing  on  the  seashore 
looking  out  over  the  boundless  ocean  of  eternity,  and  as 
we  look  out,  there  comes  towards  some  of  us — those 
of  us  who  have  a  living  faith  in  Jesus  Christ — gallant 
vessels  laden  with  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones, 
with  every  sail  set,  wafted  swiftly  towards  us  by  the 
breezes  of  the  divine  favour.  But  toward  the  rest  of  us 
— those  out  of  Christ — as  we  look  out  over  the  bound- 
less ocean  of  eternity,  there  come  no  vessels,  but  dis- 
mantled wrecks,  with  no  cargoes  but  the  livid  corpses 
of  lost  opportunities,  over  which  are  hovering  the  vul* 


WHAT  IT  COSTS 


153 


tures  of  eternal  despair,  driven  madly  towards  ns  by  the 
fast-rising  blasts  of  the  indignation  of  a  holy  and  an 
outraged  God.    That  is  what  it  costs  not  to  be  a  Chris- 

4.    In  the  next  place,  not  to  he  a  Christian  costs  the 
sacrifice  of  the  hiohist  manhood  and  the  highest  woman- 
hood.—Ra^e  you  ever  thought  of  it,  that  we  have  all 
fallen  away  from  God's  ideal  jf  manhood  and  woman- 
hood through  sin?    Paul  puts  it  in  his  tremendous  way, 
"We  have  all  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God;"  all  fallen  short  of  God's  ideal  of  manhood;  and 
the  only  way  back  to  it  is  by  the  acceptance  of  those 
regenerating  and  transforming  powers  that  there  are  in 
Jesus  Christ;  or,  to  put  it  into  ordinary  language,  by 
regeneration  through  Christ.     And  the  best  that  any 
man  or  woman  can  attain  to  out  of  Christ  is  to  be  a 
mere  caricature  of  manhood  or  womanhood  as  God  cre- 
ated men  and  women  to  be.    Is  there  a  man  in  this  au- 
dience to-night  so  lost  to  all  that  is  noble,  to  all  that  is 
good,  to  all  that  is  truly  manly,  th,"  he  is  willing  to  be 
a  mere  caricature  of  manhood  as  God  created  man  to 
be?    Is  there  a  woman  here  to-night  so  lost  to  all  that 
is  true,  to  all  that  is  womanly,  that  she  is  willing  to  be 
a  mere  caricature  of  womanhood  as  God  created  woman 
to  be?    That  is  what  it  costs  not  to  be  a  Christian ;  and, 
men  and  women,  if  there  were  no  other  argument  but 
that,  I  would  come  to  Christ  to-night. 

5.  In  the  next  place,  not  to  he  a  Christian  costs  the 
sacrifice  of  Ood's  favour.— 'We  have  all  sacrificed  God's 
favour  through  sin.  The  only  way  back  to  God's  fa- 
vour is  by  the  acceptance  of  the  Sin-bearer  whom  God 
has  provided.    How  plain  the  Bible  makes  that.    Turn 


154 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


to  John  iii.  36:    "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath 
everlasting  life :  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall 
not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 
"Oh,"  but  tome  man  says,  "I  do  not  know  that  I  care 
about  that.    The  favour  of  God?    God  is  not  real  to 
me.    He  is  so  far  away.    If  I  have  the  favour  of  my 
neighbour,  the  favour  of  my  employers,  the  favour  of 
my  friends  in  the  club,  the  favour  of  my  constituents 
in  politics,  I  do  not  know  that  I  care  whether  I  have 
the  favour  of  this  far-away  being  that  you  call  God 
or  not."    Wait  a  moment ;  when  you  go  out  of  this  place 
to-night,  look  up  at  the  stars  over  your  head,  and  say 
to  yourself,  "The  great  God  that  made  those  stars,  the 
great  God  that  made  those  wonderful  worlds  of  light, 
about  which  the  astronomers  are  telling  such  wonder- 
ful things  in  these  days,  the  Cod    i    t  holds  them  in 
the  hollow  of  His  hand  as  they  go  whirling  through  space 
with  such  incredible  momentum,  that  God  loves  me,  but 
He  is  displeased  with  me."   When  you  get  home  to-niglit 
and  lie  down  to  sleep,  and  cannot — for  I  trust,  in  the 
kind  mercy  of  God,  some  of  you  will  not  sleep  when  yor 
get  home  to-night  through  thinking  of  what  you  have 
heard  here — ^when  you  get  home  and  cannot  sleep,  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  house  is  asleep,  and  you  lie  there 
alone,  alone  with  God,  looking  up  into  the  face  of  God, 
and  God  looking  down  not  into  your  face  only  but  also 
into  your  heart,  say  to  yourself,  "The  great  God  into 
whose  face  I  am  now  looking  up,  and  who  is  looking 
down  not  into  my  face  only  but  also  into  my  heart, 
that  God  loves  me,  but  He  is  displeased  with  me." 
Men  and  women,  if  I  had  to  face  that  thought  to- 
night, if  there  were  any  way  to  find  peace  with  God— 


mm 


WHAT  IT  COSTS 


155 


and  thank  God  there  is!-I  would  not  rest  till  I  had 

T    In  the  next  place,  not  to  U  a  Christian  costs  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ's  acknowledgment  in  the  world  to 
comL-nov,  plain  the  Word  of  God  is  about  fhat.  Turn 
to  Jesus'  own  words  in  Matthew  x.  32,  33 :    "Whosoever 
therefore  shall  confess  Me  before  men,  him  will  I  con- 
fess also  before  My  Father  which  is  in  Heaven ;  out  who- 
soever 3hall  deny  Me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny 
before  My  Father  which  is  in  Heaven."    You  will  often 
hear  men  say  this:    "If  a  man  believes  in  Christ  in  the 
secrecy  of  his  heart,  even  if  he  never  confesses  Him  or 
says  anything  about  it,  God  yet  knows  what  is  m  his 
heart,  and  will  accept  him  on  the  ground  of  the  faith 
which  he  never  confesses."   I  challenge  any  man  to  show 
me  one  line  in  this  book  that  countenances  such  a  state- 
ment.   That  Word  says  as  plainly  as  day,  in  Romans 
X.  10,  "For  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  right- 
eousness; and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation  "    That  Word  says  as  plainly  as  day,  and  the 
Mastc:     r  nself  said  it,  in  Mark  viii.  38,  "Whosoever 
thereto  r    ..nail  be  ashamed  of  ^Ic  and  of  My  words  in 
this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  of  him  also  shall 
the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed  when  He  cometh  in  the 
glory  of  His  Father  with  the  holy  angels."    That  word 
says  as  plainly  as  day,  "Whosoever  shall  confess  Me  be- 
fore men,  him  will  I  also  confess  before  My  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven,  but  whosoever  denieth  Me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  My  Father  which  is  in 
Heaven."    You  say,  "Does  not  faith  save?"  Yes,  and 
faith  confesses;  and  the  faith  that  does  not  lead  to  con- 
fession is  no  faith,  and  the  faith  that  doc3  not  lead  to 


166 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


confession  will  not  lead  to  salvation.  I  can  imagine 
that  great  day,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  summons  all  His 
own  before  the  hev  of  God.  There  we  stand  in  bright 
and  glorious  array,  the  Lord  Jesus  Clirist  at  our  head, 
and  He  turns  to  His  Father  and  says,  "Father,  all  these 
are  Mine;  they  confessed  Me  upon  earth  before  men, 
and  I  now  confess  them  before  Thee  My  Father  in 
Heaven."  But  look,  away  over  on  the  outskirts  of  that 
cTOVifl  is  a  man  who  hung  upon  the  outskirts  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  on  earth.  His  sympathies  were  with 
the  Church,  his  associations  were  with  the  Church,  but 
he  was  a  coward,  and  had  not  the  courage  of  his  con- 
victions. He  was  afraid  of  his  business  partner,  of  his 
associates  in  politics  or  in  society,  and  he  never  came 
out  and  confessed  Christ  openly  before  men.  But  he 
thinks  that  because  he  hung  upon  the  outskirts  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  on  earth,  that  he  can  hang  upon  the 
outskirts  up  there.  The  Lord  Jesus  CTirist  now  turns 
to  him— I  do  not  believe  it  will  be  so  much  in  anger  as 
in  unutterable  pity— and  with  a  sad  wave  of  His  hand 
He  says,  "Depart,  depart ;  you  did  not  confess  Me  upon 
earth  before  men;  I  cannot  confess  thee  before  My 
Father  which  is  in  Heaven."  Men  and  women,  that 
is  what  it  costs  not  to  be  a  Christian.  Not  to  be  an 
open,  confessed,  out-and-out  follower  of  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  Once  more,  not  to  be  a  Christian  costs  the  sacri- 
fice of  eternal  life,  and  means  to  perish  for  ever.— 
How  plain  the  Word  of  God  is  about  that.  Take  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself  in  John  iii.  14, 15,  "And 
as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up :  that  whosoever 
believetb  in  TTim  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 


WHAT  IT  COSTS 


167 


life."  How  plain  it  is.  Believe— have  everlasting  life; 
not  believe— perish.  John  iii.  16:  "For  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  How  plain  it  is;  believe— have 
everlasting  life;  not  believe— perish.  Once  more,  John 
iii.  36 :  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting 
life:  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see 
life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."  How  plain 
it  is;  believe— have  everlasting  life;  not  believe— "shall 
not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

Do  you  ask  me  what  eternal  life  means?    I  cannot 
tell  you.    I  can  tell  you  what  its  beginnings  are,  for, 
thank  God,  I  have  them  in  my  own  heart  to-night.    But 
what  eternal  life  means  in  all  its  fulness,  in  its  eternal 
outworkings,  no  human  language  can  describe,  and  no 
human  fancy  can  conceive.    I  will  tell  you  what  to  do. 
Take  that  moment  of  your  life  whose  joy  was  purest, 
deepest,  highest,  holiest,  divinest,  multiply  it  by  infinity, 
and  carry  it  out  to  all  eternity,  and  you  will  have  some 
faint  conception  of  what  eternal  life  means.    Do  you 
ask  me  what  it  means  to  perish?    I  cannot  tell  you. 
You  and  I  sometimes  see  the  beginnings  of  it  in  the  man 
or  woman  who  has  gone  down  through  sin,  in  the  de- 
pravity of  their  lives,  in  the  corruption  of  their  charac- 
ters, in  their  wretchedness  and  despair.    But  what  it 
moans  to  perish  in  all  the  eternal  outworkings  of  a  de- 
praved character,  what  it  means  to  perish  in  that  end- 
less vista  that  lies  ahead  of  us,  no  human  language  can 
describe,  no  human  fancy  can  conceive.    But  I  will  tell 
you  what  to  do.    Take  that  moment  in  your  own  life 
whose  degradation  was  deepest,  whose  corruption  was 
completest,  whose  despair  was  the  most  blank  and  the 


158 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


most  utter,  and  whose  agony  was  the  most  appalling, 
multiply  it  by  infinity,  and  carry  it  out  to  all  eternity, 
and  you  have  some  faint  conception  of  what  it  means 
to  perish.  And  that  is  what  it  costs  not  to  bo  a  Chris- 
tian. 

Men  and  women,  I  put  to  you  then  this  question: 
Are  you  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  a  Christless  life? 
If  you  are,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say.  If  not,  I  ask 
you  to  stand  right  up  and  profess  your  acceptance  of 
Christ  like  men  and  women.  Now  I  will  admit  that  you 
may  gain  something  by  not  becoming  Christians.  I  will 
admit  that  it  will  cost  you  something  to  become  real 
Christians.  It  will  in  all  probability  cost  you  the  loss 
of  friends  that  you  hold  very  dear,  I  never  knew  a 
man  to  step  out  of  the  world  without  losing  friends. 
It  will  cost  you  the  loss  of  money,  for  real  Christianity 
touches  a  man's  pocketbook.  I  am  willing  to  admit 
that.  You  cannot  do  some  things  in  business  if  you 
become  a  Christian  that  add  to  your  income  and  whicli 
you  do  to-day.  I  will  admit  that.  I  want  you  to  know 
this.  I  do  not  want  you  to  come  out  under  false  pre- 
tenses. It  will  cost  you  very  likelj  the  loss  of  pleasures 
of  which  you  are  very  fond,  and  not  for  one  day  only, 
but  for  weeks  and  months  and  years  to  come.  When 
I  gave  my  heart  to  Christ  I  had  to  give  up  everything 
I  was  most  addicted  to  in  the  days  gone  by,  the  things 
without  which,  it  seemed  to  me,  life  would  not  be  worth 
living.  I  want  you  to  know  this  to-night.  We  want 
real  conversion  here.  But  I  also  want  to  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion: Are  you  willing,  for  the  sake  of  a  few  godless 
companions  that  you  are  better  off  without,  are  you  will- 
ing, for  the  eake  of  a  few  hundred  or  a  few  thousand 


WHAT  IT  COSTS 


159 


or  a  hundred  thousand,  if  need  be,  of  pounds  sterling, 
are  you  ■willing,  for  the  sake  of  foolish,  godless  pleas- 
ures that  are  unworthy  of  a  thinking  being  anyhow,  and 
unworthy  of  your  brain  and  your  feet  and  hands,  that 
men  and  women  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  even  if  they 
are  not  Christians,  like  the  dance,  the  card  table,  the 
theatre,  that  intelligent  people  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  even  if  they  are  not  Christians,  are  you  willing,  for 
the  sake  of  such  things  as  these,  to  sacrifice  peace  and 
joy  and  hope  and  manhood  and  womanhood  and  God's 
favour  and  Christ's  acknowledgment  and  eternal  life, 
and  perish  for  ever  ?  Are  you  willing  to  make  so  great 
a  sacrifice  for  so  paltry  gain?  One  night  in  New  York 
City,  at  the  close  of  a  sermon  by  Dr.  MacArthur,  a 
gentleman  came  to  him  and  said,  "Dr.  MacArthur,  I 
want  to  ask  you  a  question;  if  I  become  a  Christian 
must  I  give  up  my  money?"  Dr.  MacArthur  was  a  wise 
man,  and  answered,  "If  you  become  a  Christian,  and 
Jesus  Christ  asks  you  for  your  money,  you  must  be  will- 
ing to  give  it  up,  every  penny  of  it."  The  man  said, 
"Dr.  MacArthur,  I  will  take  a  week  to  think  about  that." 
Dr.  MacArthur  knew  it  was  no  good  pressing  the 
man  just  then,  and  he  said,  "Very  well."  The  man 
came  back  after  a  week,  and  said,  "Dr.  MacArthur,  I 
have  settled  it;  I  will  hold  on  to  my  money  till  death, 
and  if  Christ  and  Heaven  must  go,  they  must  go." 
That  was  an  awful  decision,  but  it  was  an  intelligent 
one.  Are  you  ready  to  say  that  to-night?  "I  will  hold 
on  to  my  money  till  death;  I  will  hold  on  to  godless 
companions  till  death;  I  will  hold  on  to  my  godless 
pleasures  till  death;  and  if  Christ  and  Heaven  must 
go,  and  peace  and  joy  and  hope  and  manhood  and 


IGO 


BEVIVAL  ADDBESSES 


go,  and  peace  and  joy  and  hope  and  manhood  and 
womanhood  and  God's  favour  and  Christ's  acknowledg- 
ment and  eternal  life  must  go,  and  eternal  ruin  come, 
let  them  go  and  let  it  come."  Are  you  ready  to  say 
that,  men  and  women  ?  That  is  what  you  do  say,  prac- 
tically, if  you  go  out  of  this  place  to-night  without 
Jesus  Christ. 


XII 


THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION  THAT  ANY 
MAN  EVER  ASKED  OR  ANSWERED 

"What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?"— 
Matthew  xxvii.  22. 

You  will  remamber  that  it  was  the  Roman  governor 
Pilate  who  asked  this  question,  and  he  answered  it 
wrongly,  and  brought  eternal  ruin  and  infamy  down 
upon  his  own  head.  I  trust  that  many  in  this  great 
audience  will  answer  it  right  to-night,  and  bring  to 
themselves  eternal  life,  eternal  joy,  and  eternal  glory. 
That  question  is  the  mOat  important  question  that  any 
man  ever  asked  or  answered,  for  if  you  do  the  right 
thing  with  Jesus  Christ  you  will  get  everything  that 
is  worth  having  for  time  and  for  eternity ;  and  if  you 
do  the  wrong  thing  with  Jesus  Christ  you  will  lose 
everything  that  is  worth  having  for  time  and  for 
eternity. 

I.    Some  Things  that  Depend  on  What 

WE  DO  WriTH  JeSU8  ChBIST 

I  want  to  call  your  attention  first  of  all  to  some 
of  the  things  that  depend  on  what  we  do  with  Jesus 
Christ. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  our  acceptance  "before  Ood  de- 
pends upon  what  we  do  with  Jesus  Christ. — ^Tf  you 

va 


162 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


accept  Jesus  Christ  God  will  accept  you ;  if  you  reject 
Jesus  Christ  God  will  reject  you.    We  read  in  John  iii. 
18  and  19 :    "He  that  bclioveth  is  not  condemned,  but 
he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because 
he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God;   and  this  is  the  condemnation,  that  light 
is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather 
than  light  because  their  deeds  were  evil."    Our  accept- 
ance before  God  does  not  depend  on  the  good  works  we 
perform.     In  order  to  be  accepted  before  God  on  the 
ground  of  our  good  w  rks,  our  good  works  must  be 
perfect;    and  no  man's  works  are  perfect.     For  it  is 
written  in  the  Law  of  God,  "Cursed  is  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  Law,  to  do  them";   and  no  one  has  kept 
the  whole  law,  and  therefore  no  man  can  be  accepted 
on  the  ground  of  his  works.     Again,  our  acceptance 
before  God  does  not  depend    on  the  character  we  have 
built  up.     In  order  to  be  accepted  before  God  on  the 
ground  of  character,  our  character  must  be  absolutely 
holy,  for  God  is  an  infinitely  holy  God;    and  there  is 
no  one  who  has  not  sinned. 

Our  acceptance  before  God  depends  upon  our  accept- 
ance of  Him  who  lived  a  perfectly  holy  life  Himself, 
and  then  died  as  the  substitute  for  those  who  have 
led  unholy  lives.  If  the  vilest  man  or  woman  in  Lon- 
don should  come  into  this  gathering  to-night  and  should 
here  and  now  accept  Jesus  as  their  Sin-bearer  and 
Saviour,  the  moment  they  did  it  God  would  blot  out 
every  sin  they  ever  committed,  and  their  record  would 
be  as  white  in  God's  sight  as  that  of  the  purest  saint 
in  Heaven. 


.mxi^^^ 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       163 

I   remember  preaching  one  morning  in  my  own 
church  in  Chicago  on  Romans  viii.  1,  "There  ia  there- 
lore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  ai>  in  Christ 
Jesus";  and  I  was  led  to  make  this  remark:    "If  the 
wickedest  woman  in  Chicago  should  come  into  Chicago 
Avenue  Church  this  morning,  and  should  here  and  now 
put  her  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  as  her  personal  Saviour, 
the  moment  she  did  it  God  would  blot  out  all  her  sins, 
and  her  record  would  be  as  white  in  God's  sight  as 
that  of  the  purest  woman  in  this  building."    Now  quite 
unknown  to  me  a  true  Christian  woman,  a  member  of 
my  congregation,  had  gone  out  that  morning,  and  had 
gone  into  one  of  the  lowest  dens  of  infamy  in  the  city, 
and  there  she  had  asked  a  woman  living  in  sin  to 
come  and  hear  me  preach.    But  the  woman  answered : 
"No   I  never  go  to  church;    church  is  no  place  for  a 
person  like  me."    But  the  good  woman  replied:    "Our 
church  is;  the  vilest  sinner  is  welcomed  at  our  church." 
"No,  no,"  this  outcast  woman  said,  "I  could  never  go." 
"But  I  will  go  with  you."   "No,  that  will  never  do," 
eaid  the  woman ;   "the  people  on  the  street  know  me ; 
the  policemen,  know  me;  the  very  boys  on  the  street 
know  me,  and  sometimes  they  throw  stones  at  me  when 
I  go  down  the  street ;  and  if  they  saw  you  walking  with 
me  they  would  take  you  to  be  like  me."    But  the  lady 
replied,  "I  don't  care  what  they  think  about  me ;   you 
come  along  with  me,  and  I  will  go  with  you  to  the 
House  of  God."    But  the  woman  still  refused,  and  said, 
«*I  cannot  do  that;  but,"  she  added,  "you  go  a  Httle 
way  ahead,  and  I  will  follow  you  up  the  street."    So 
the  lady  consented,  and  this  woman  who  was  a  sinner 
followed  her.     They  came  to  the  comer  where  my 


161, 


BEVIVAL  ADDBESSES. 


church  stands,  and  mounted  up  the  stepf  at  the  en- 
trance into  the  vestibule,  and  when  they  got  inside  the 
church  this  poor  woman  who  was  a  sinner  dropped 
down  into  the  very  last  seat,  at  the  back  of  the  church. 
I  was  preaching  when  siie  entered,  and  just  as  she  got 
to  that  seat  I  uttered  the  words,  "If  the  wickedest 
woman  in  Chicago  >:hould  come  into  the  Chicago  Avenue 
Church  this  morning,  and  should  here  and  now  put 
her  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  as  her  personal  Saviour,  the 
moment  she  did  it  God  would  blot  out  all  her  sins,  and 
her  record  would  be  as  white  in  God's  sight  as  that  of 
the  purest  woman  in  this  building."  My  words  went 
floating  down  over  the  heads  of  that  audience  and 
dropped  down  into  the  heart  of  that  woman.  She  be- 
lieved it,  and  accepted  Christ,  and  God  met  her  and 
blotted  out  all  her  sins,  and  washed  her  record  white 
right  then  and  thpre.  And  after  that  service  the 
woman  came  down  the  aisle  of  the  church  to  me,  the 
tears  streaming  down  her  face,  and  told  me  how  God 
had  blessed  her  that  morning. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  our  finding  peace  of  conscience 
depends  entirely  on  what  we  do  with  Jesus  Christ. — In 
Homans,  v.  1,  we  read,  "Therefore,  being  justified  by 
faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

We  can  never  get  peace  of  conscience  by  good  works ; 
we  can  never  get  peace  of  conscience  by  prayers  and 
penances.  How  many  have  tried  to  get  peace  that  way 
and  have  failed!  Martin  Luther,  after  his  wild  uni- 
versity life,  roused  to  the  sense  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  sinner,  tried  to  find  peace  by  good  works,  by  long 
nights  of  prayer,  by  penances,  but  failed  I    At  last  hg 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION"       165 

went  to  Rome,  and  started  to  climb  up  the  steps  at  St. 
Peter's  on  hia  knees,  hoping  to  find  peace  that  way,  but 
failed.    At  last,  the  words  of  God  came  ringing  in  hia 
ears  "The  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  and  Martin  Luther 
put  his  faith  in  the       finished  work  of  Christ,  and 
found  Face  instantly.    I  have  a  friend  over  in  Amer- 
ica, and  in  the  days  before  I  made  his  acquaintance 
he  V13  a  very  vicious  mar.     He  was  a  professional 
gambUr,  one  of  the  most     -=,Krn'e  gamblers  on  the 
Mississippi  River  in  the  oiu  .lu>>  ''?   the  Mississippi 
gamblers.    One  night  he  was  . .    he  gr,;.iing  table,  and 
a  man  across  the  table  accu     '   ;->u    -f  dishonesty  at 
cards,  and  Stephen  Holcombe,  who  is  now  my  friend, 
drew  his  revolver  and  shot  at  his  accu^^r.    The  bullet 
went  into  the  man's  neck,  and  when  he  saw  what  he 
had  done  Stephen  Holcombe  sprang  to  the  man's  side, 
lifted  his  head  on  to  his  knee,  and  tried  to  staunch 
the  flow  of  blood  in  the  gaping  wound;  but  the  man 
bled  to  death  then  and  there.    Stephen  Holcombe  was 
arrested  for  murder ;  he  was  tried,  and  was  acquitted 
on  the  ground  tbat  he  had  shot  the  man  in  self-defense. 
But,  though  acq  lilted  by  a  human  court,  he  was  not  ac- 
quitted before  the  bar  of  God,  nor  before  the  bar  of 
his  own  conscience.    He  tried  every  way  to  find  peace. 
He  gave  up  gambling,  and  he  gave  up  all  his  evil 
ways  to  find  peace,  but  he  did  not  find  it.     He  even 
united  himself  to  a  church,  and  went  to  the  Communion 
table,  but  he  did  not  find  peace.    Two  years  after  that 
awful  night  he  was  in  h  s  room  alone  in  misery,  hia 
face  buried  in  his  hands,  and  the  memory  of  that  day 
was  haunting  him,  and  as  he  knelt  there  ho  cried :    "O 
God,  can  anything  blot  out  the  awful  memory  of  what 


166 


BEVIVAL  ADDBESSES 


I  have  done  and  give  me  peace?"    And  the  strains  of 
the  old  familiar  hymn  came  singing  through  his  heart— 

What  shall  wash  away  my  sinT 
Nothing  but  the  blood  of  Jesus ; 

What  shall  make  me  whole  again? 
Nothing  but  the  blood  of  Jesus. 

And  then  and  there  Stephen  Holconibe  saw  Christ  on 
the  Cross  for  his  sin.  He  saw  all  his  sins,  the  murder 
and  all,  laid  on  Christ.  Then  and  there  Stephen  Hol- 
combe  found  peace,  and  from  that  day  he  has  gone  up 
and  down  our  country  preaching  Christ  and  the  atoning 
blood  that  gave  him  peace. 

Is  there  some  man  or  woman  here  to-night  haunted 
^th  the  memory  of  the  evil  you  have  done?  Men  and 
women,  there  is  a  way  to  find  peace,  only  one  way— by 
simple  faith  in  a  Christ  that  was  crucified  on  the  Cross 
of  Calvary  for  your  sin. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  finding  deep  and  abiding  joy 
depends  on  what  we  do  with  Jesus  Christ— As  the 
Apostle  Peter  says  in  1  Peter  i.  8,  "Though  now  ye  see 
Him  not,  yet,  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory."  A  man  can  never  get  joy  through 
the  accumulation  of  wealth.  Many  have  tried  it,  but 
no  one  has  ever  succeeded.  A  man  cannot  get  jov 
through  seeking  the  world's  honours ;  many  have  tried 
it,  but  no  one  has  ever  succeedod.  A  man  cannot  get 
joy  through  indulging  in  the  world's  pleasures;  mil- 
lions have  tried  it,  bat  no  one  has  ever  succeeded.  But, 
friends,  the  wretchcdost  licart  in  this  world  can  find  joy 
to-night  through  believing  in  Christ  cruciiied  and 
risen. 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       167 

Some  years  ago  I  remember  a  noblewoman  of  your 
country  was  studying  at  our  Bible  Institute  in  Chi- 
cago, and  on  the  day  she  left  the  Institute  she  told  us 
these  two  incidents  that  happened  over  here  in  Eng- 
land.   She  said,  "I  had  a  letter  from  a  dear  friend  of 
mine,  a  lady,  and  she  asked  me  to  come  at  once  to  sou 
her.    I  hurried  to  her  home,  and,  as  I  went  up  the 
elegant  marble  stairway  and  saw  the  costly  paintings 
on  the  walls  and  the  magnificent  statues  that  lined 
the  hall,  I  said  to  myself,  'I  wonder  if  all  this  wealth 
and  splendour  makes  my  friend  happy.'  I  did  not  have 
to  wait  long  to  find  out,  for  presently  the  lad.v  came 
hurrying  into  the  room,  and,  after  greeting  me,  dropped 
into  a  seat  and  burst  into  tears.  All  the  wealth,  honour 
and  dignity  of  her  position  had  rot  given  her  joy. 
After  this  I  went  to  visit  a  poor  blind  woman  in  an 
humble  cottage.     It  wab  a  dark  rainy  day,  and  the 
rain  was  dripping  through  the  badly  thatched  roof, 
gathering  in  a  pool  before  the  chair  where  the  woman 
sat.    When  I  saw  the  poverty  of  that  blind  woman  I 
was  driven  to  turn  to  her  and  say,  'Maggie,  are  you 
not  miserable?'     'What,  lady?'   and  she  turned  her 
sightless  eyes  to  me  in  surprise.     *W^hat,  lady?     I 
miserable;   I,  the  child  of  a  King,  and  hurrying  on 
to  the  mansion  He  has  gone  to  prepare  for  me?     I 
miserable?    No,  no,  lady,  I  am  happy !' "    Wealth  had 
not  brought  joy  to  the  one,  but  a  living  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  had  brought  joy  to  the  other  in  the  midst  of  her 
poverty  and  misfortune. 

4.  In  the  fourth  place,  our  obtaining  eternal  life 
'depends  entirelif  on  what  we  do  with  Jesus  Christ.— 
We  read  in  1  John  ^.  11,  12,  "God  hath  given  to  us 


168 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  His  Son.  He  thtt 
hath  the  Son  hath  life;  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son 
of  God  hath  not  life."  What  strangei  ideas  even 
Christian  people  have  about  how  to  obtain  eternal  life. 
If  I  could  come  to  some  of  you  to-night  and  say,  '*IIow 
do  you  think  people  get  eternal  life?"  t«ome  of  you 
would  answer  something  like  this,  "If  a  man  leads  a 
very  good  life,  and  fights  against  sin,  and  overcoiwcs 
it,  and  is  faithful  in  his  service  to  God,  at  the  end  of  a 
life  of  struggling  and  victory  and  service  perhaps 
God  will  give  him  eternal  life."  Thank  God,  that  is 
not  the  doctrine  of  that  Book.  The  doctrine  of  that 
Book  is,  tliat  when  God  sent  His  Son  Jesus  Christ 
down  to  this  world,  lie  sent  eternal  life  in  Him,  and 
the  moment  you  tako  Christ  you  have  the  eternal  life 
that  is  in  Him;  and  if  the  worst  outcast  in  London 
should  here  and  now  take  Christ,  the  moment  he  did 
it  he  would  have  eternal  life. 

II.  What  we  Must  do  with  Jesus  Christ. 
Now,  I  want  to  call  vnur  attention  to  a  second  line 
of  thought,  and  that  >-,  What  we  must  do  with  Jesu« 
Chrisi ;  and  let  me  say  at  the  outset  that  every  one  of 
us  will  have  to  do  sometiiing  with  Jesus  Christ  to- 
night. You  don't  want  lO.  Manv  a  man  here  to- 
night does  not  want  to  do  anything  with  Jesus  Christ. 
You  do  not  want  to  accept  Him  or  reject  Ilim.  You 
do  not  want  to  confess  Him  or  deny  Him.  You 
just  want  to  iid  Him  off  your  hands.  You  can't  do 
it!  Pontius  Pilsfp.  who  a^•k*'d  tl)p  question  of  our 
io\t.  tried  to  got  Christ  off  his  hands:  first  ho  turned 
to  the  Jew  and  said,  "Jiidp-o  TTira  according  to  your 
law":    hnt  t^"v  said,  "Wo  cannot  do  it;    by  our  law 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  Q*UESTION        169 


He  ought  to  die,  but    \e  hawr  aot  the  power  to  put 
Him  to  death."    Pilate  thea  -^ent  Him  to  Herod,  and 
said,  "You  tekc  Him  and  j*iA^c  Him,"  and  then  Pilate 
said  to  himself,  '^1  have  f*t  rid  of  Him  now ;  1  have 
put  the  respontji'^iity  ^a*  Herod."     But  look,  wh»t  is 
tliat  coming  down  the  screet?    They  are  the  returning 
Miidiers  of  Hvrod,  and  Hered  has  sent  Christ  back  to 
Pilate;  so  Pilate  has  Him  on  his  hands  again.    Then 
Pilate  sayss  "What   shall   I  do?     I   do  not  want  to 
crucify  this  Man,  because  I  know  he  is  innocent,  and 
1  do  not  want  to  release  Him,  becaase  it  will  make 
the  Jews  angry.     I  know  what   I  will  do,"  and  be 
wont  to  face  that  great  Jewish  mob,  and  said  to  them, 
"This  is  the  time  of  Passover,  and  you  know  we  have 
a  custom  at  this  time  of  the  year  that  there  should  be 
released  to  you  one  of  the  criminals  in  custody,  who- 
soever you   may  choose.     N»)w    F  am  disposed  to  be 
gracious  t'>-d»;     and   I  will  let   you  have  whom  you 
like;    which  will  y<m  h^ve,  Jesus  or" — (and  he  p^  up 
against  Jesus  the  meanefH  criminal  he  had,  a  murcterer 
and  a  robber,  and  he  said  to  himwlf.  they  will  never 
chooH*    him,   in  tlw  world)   "will   you   have  Jesus  or 
Barabbas?"     But  the  men  of  Jerusalem  were  like  y«u 
men  of  London,  and  thev  cried.  "'W..>  will  havp  Barab- 
bas";   and  Pilate  had  Jesus  on  his  haads  again.     He 
could  not   get   Him  off  his  hands — neither  can  you. 
Every  man  and  every  woman  in  this  building  will  do 
something  with  Jesus  Christ  to-nigin.     Xow  let   ">f 
tell  you  what  you  must  do. 

1.  You  mwit  either  accept  Him  or  reject  Him. 
Jesus  Christ  is  here,  and  now  offers  Himself  to  every 
man  and  every  woman  in  this  building  as  yonx  Saviour 


i;9 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


and  Lord  imd  Xastcr,  cod  iial«H  j<m  (jefisit^'ly  aaxpt 
Him  M  Mfrii  ,v«i  defi»tely  reject  Him.  Every  man 
ami  wosaaa  will  go  out  of  this  buiMing  to-night  either 
h*ping  defiaitely  accepted  Chriat  or  definitely  rejected 

I  daid  to  a  gentlemaa  going  out  of  »  jneeting  like 

thie  3oe  night,  "Mr    ,  ate  you  g(»a^  to  accept 

Carurt  to-night?"  He  f>fplied.  "I  am  net  going  to 
accept  Him  to-night,  bwt  I  want  you  to  onderiitand 
that  I  do  not  reject  JtiaM."  I  «aid,  "I  iM<d*»r»tafld 
nothing  of  the  jtiad;  Je»*R  Chriif  ^^fers  Hunself  to 
you,  and  if  yea  do  not  .i*»(*|)t  Hira.  y<«ir  refusal  to 
accept  *lim  if  to  reject  ifun  "  and  «ver7  man  and 
woman  iS  Miltiiiwv  Hall  «ril  j^o  out  o'  tbe  building 
to-aight  ej'her  h^v  nj^  accept*^  Jesus  ChrM  or  hiring 
rejected  J«swM  Chfi* 

'^.  Secon^Sv-  we  mvM  eifk^^r  confess  Him  or  deny 
Him  He  HjHfiaelf  said  so  in  Matthew  x.  32,  33: 
"Who«o-wr  th»Tpfore  A\«\\  confess  Me  before  m''n, 
iiim  win  r  eonfew  alao  befryee  My  Father  which  is  in 
Hfaven ;  but  wlMM»opver  shall  deny  Me  bi'fore  men, 
him  will  I  also  deny  before  My  Father  which  is  in 
Heaven."  You  will  do  one  or  the  other.  There  are 
just  two  parties  in  the  world  to-day,  the  confessed 
followers  of  Christ  and  the  deniers  of  Christ,  and  you 
belong  to  one  or  the  other.  Which  do  you  belong  to? 
Are  you  a  confessor  of  the  Son  of  God,  or  are  you  a 
denier  of  the  Son  of  God? 

3.  In  the  third  place,  you  mwt  either  let  Kim  into 
your  heart  or  shut  IJim  out.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
gays  in  Revelation  iil.  20:  *TJchold  I  stand  at  the 
Jioor  and  knock;  if  any  man  hear  My  voice  and  open 


A  MOST  IMPOBTANT  QUESTION       171 

the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him  and  will  sup  with 
him,  and  he  with  Me."  The  Lord  Jesus  is  in  Mildmay 
Ifall  to-night,  knocking,  knocking!  Who  is  it  knock- 
ing? The  Son  of  God— knocking  at  your  heart  and 
mine.  Will  vou  throw  your  heart  wide  open  and  say, 
"Come  in,  Lord  Jesus?*'  or  will  you  shut  your  heart 
asul  bar  it  and  say,  "Stay  out,  Lord  Jesus"?  Every 
(ma  0i  us  will  say  one  or  the  other  to-night. 

4.  In  tbe  next  place,  we  must  cither  be  for  Christ 
or  gainst  Uim.     Hi;  Himself  says  so.     In  Matthew 
xri.  30,  He  sajw,  "He  that  is  not  with  Me  is  against 
Me."     Evfry  man  that  is  not  with   Him  is  against 
Tlira.     Every  man  that  is  not  openly,  decidedly,  con- 
fessedly, out   and   out   for   Christ   is  against   Christ. 
You  either  have  to  take  your  stand  with  John,  the 
liploved  Apostle,  and  Peter  the  warm-heartt  d,  and  Paul 
the  heroic,  and  all  the  noble  band  of  eonfwsors  and 
martyrs  and  servants  of  the  Son  of  God,  or  you  havo 
to  take  your  stand  with  Pontius  Pilate,  with  Herod, 
with  Annas  and  Caiaphas,  with  Judas  Taeariot.    Where 
do  yon  take  your  stand  to-night?     T  crmbl  run   i  line 
through  this  building,  and,  if  I  ka«-w  you  all  to-night 
as  God  knows  you,  I  could  put  every  man  and  woman 
in  the  building  on  one  or  the  otl*er  sidt'  of  the  line. 
On  one  side  those  who  are  fm- ^"'lirist,  wholo-heart*dly 
for  Christ;    on  th»'  other  s^in-  those  who  are  against 
Christ.    Suppose  I  did  it ;  whicb  side  would  you  be  on  ? 

III.    Who  this  Jmx's  is  with  Whom  wk 
HAVE  TO  do'. 

Now  one  other  line  of  thought,  and  that  is  who  thin 
JesuB  is  with  whom  we  have  to  do.    Who  is  lie  ? 


172 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


1.  In  the  first  place.  He  is  One  whom  God  hath  ap' 
pointed  and  anointed  to  he  your  King.  We  read  in 
Acts  ii.  36,  "This  same  Jesii.«,  whom  ye  have  crucified, 
God  hath  made  both  Lord  and  Christ"  (that  means 
"anointed  King").  You  have  a  way  of  saying  here  in 
England  that  King  Edward  is  your  divinely  appointed 
king,  and  I  beliove  it.  I  believe  he  is,  but  in  an  in- 
finitely higher  sense  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  your  divinely 
appointed  and  divinely  anointed  King.  If  you  reject 
Jesus  Christ  you  reject  your  divinely  appointed  King; 
if  you  deny  Jesus  Christ,  you  deny  your  divinely  ap- 
pointed King;  if  you  shut  Jesus  Christ  out  of  your 
heart,  you  shut  your  divinely  appointed  King  out  of 
your  heart;  and  if  you  take  your  stand  against  Jesus 
Christ,  you  take  your  stand  against  your  divinely  ap- 
pointed King.  And  you  are  guilty  of — ^listen — high 
treason  !  There  closed  a  trial  in  London  the  day  before 
yesterday  in  w^hich  a  man  was  tried  and  convicted  of 
high  treason,  and  sentenced  to  death.  Whether  or  not 
they  will  carry  out  the  sentence  into  execution  I  do 
not  know:  but  I  do  know  that  if  the  man  was  guilty, 
as  the  jury  found,  then  according  to  the  English  law, 
and  the  law  of  any  well-organized  government,  he  is 
worthy  of  death.  But,  men  and  women,  I  charge  every 
man  and  woman  in  this*  building  to-night — I  care  not 
what  position  in  society  you  hold — I  charge  you,  T 
indict  vou,  everv  man  and  woman,  every  man  and 
woman  in  the  building  out  of  Christ,  of  high  treason 
against  Heaven's  King,  and  if  you  got  your  just 
deserts  you  would  die. 

One  day  in  ^laryborough,  over  in  Australia,  a  fine- 
looking  man  came  to  see  me,  an  unusually  fine-hioking 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       173 

man,  with  splendid  physique  and  dome-like  forehead. 
He  said,  "I  want  a  talk  with  you,"  and  I  said,  "Very 
well,  take  a  seat,  sir."  He  said,  "I  don't  know  about 
your  preaching.  Now  I  am  a  moral,  upright  man,  and 
no  one  can  deny  it.  Now,"  he  naid,  "I  would  like  you 
to  tell  me  what  you  have  against  me."  I  said,  "Are 
you  a  Christian?"  "No,  sir,"  he  replied.  "Have  you 
taken  Jesus  Christ  as  your  personal  Saviour,  and  sur- 
rendered your  life  to  Him  as  your  Lord  and  Master, 
and  confessed  Him  as  such  before  the  world,  and  given 
your  life  to  Him?"  "No,  sir,"  he  replied.  "Tlicn," 
I  said,  "I  charge  you,  sir,  with  high  treason  against 
your  King.  Jesus  Christ  is  your  King;  God  made 
Him  so;  and  I  charge  you,  sir" — and  I  looked  him 
right  in  the  eye— "I  charge  you,  sir,  with  the  crime 
of  high  treason  against  your  King."  And  a  dark 
cloud  came  over  the  man's  face  as  he  got  up,  and, 
going  out  of  my  room,  he  said,  "Good  afternoon,"  and 
walked  away. 

Months  passed  away;  we  had  been  over  to  Tasmania 
and  conducted  a  mission  there,  and  had  returned,  and 
I  was  preaching  in  Ballarat,  about  forty  miles  away 
from  Maryborough.     After  the  service,  a  fine-looking 
man  came  to  me,  and  said,  "Do  you  remember  me?" 
I  k»ew  his  face,  b\it  I  could  not  remember  where  T 
had  seen  him.     I  said,  'l  Imve  seen  you  somewhero, 
but  I  casaot  nlaer  you."    He  said   "Do  you  remombor 
evtr  charging  a  man  with  high  treas'm?"    1  said,  "I 
have  charged  many  a  man  with  high  treason."    "Yet," 
he  Slid;  "but  do  you  r^nombt'r  charging  ar.y  specillr 
man  with  hig!i  trefc-m  "    Then  ho  began  to  tell  n^o  his 
story,  and  i    'omn^aced  to  gather  who  lie  was.     Ha 


174 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


said,  *1  am  the  man,  and  I  have  come  to  Ballarat,  sir, 
to  tell  you  that  you  will  never  charge  me  with  high 
treason  again;"  and  he  held  out  his  hand,  and  I  held 
out  mine,  and  he  took  mine  in  his  mighty  grip — and 
it  was  a  mighty  grip! — and  he  said  "Down!"  and  he 
dropped  on  his  knees,  and  I  dropped  on  to  mine,  and  he 
said,  "Lord  Jesus,  I  hand  in  my  allegiance ;  I  give  up 
my  treason ;  I  take  Thee  as  my  King." 

You  men  ought  to  do  it  to-night,  lie  is  your  King, 
and  every  man  and  woman  among  you  that  does  not 
accept  Him  and  acknowledge  Ilim  as  such  to-night  I 
charge  you  with  high  treason  against  Heaven's  King. 

2,  But  He  is  more  than  your  King — He  is  the  Son 
of  Ood.  He  is  a  divine  Person,  and  if  you  reject  Him 
you  are  guilty  of  rejecting  the  Son  of  God ;  if  you  deny 
Him  you  are  guilty  of  denying  the  Son  of  God;  i*" 
you  shut  Him  out  of  your  hearts  )0U  arc  guilty  of  t^hut- 
ting  the  Son  of  God  out  of  your  hearts;  if  you  take 
your  stand  against  Him  you  are  guilty  o^:  taking  your 
stand  against  the  Son  of  God. 

"Oh,  hut,"  some  may  say,  "we  don't  believe  ITe  is 
the  Son  of  God.  Don't  you  know  there  are  ^onie  people 
in  these  advanced  days  that  don't  believe  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God?"  I  know  it  just  as  well  as  you  do; 
and  I  know  something  el^^e  that  you  will  know  in  a 
minute — that  is,  that  denying  a  fact  does  not  alter 
the  fact.  In  this  superficial  twentieth  century  we  h  ne 
a  very  easy  way  of  disposing  of  the  facta  we  don't  like 
to  believe.  We  say,  "I  don't  believe  this,"  and  we 
think  that  does  away  with  the  fact.  :^Ten  who  do  not 
want  to  believe  in  hell  say,  *T  don't  believe  in 
bell,"  and  they  think  that  they  have  shut  the  gates  of 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       175 

hell  by  saying  that.     Men  who  don't  want  to  believe 
in  the  Bible  say,  "I  don't  believe  in  the  Bible,"  and 
they  think  that  they  annihilate  the  Book  that  has  stood 
for  nineteen  centuries  by  saying  that.     Men  who  do 
^lot  want  to  believe  in  Christ  say,  "I  do  not  believe 
that  Je       Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,"  and  Ihey  think 
by  their  not  believing  it  He  ceases  to  be  the  Son  of 
God.    Has  it  never  occurred  to  you  that  a  fact  is  a  fact 
whether  you  believe  it  or  not?     We  have  got  some 
people  in  America  that  have  become  so  possessed  with 
the  idea  that  denying  a  thing  is  quite  sufficient  to 
annihilate  it,  that  they  declare  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  pain.    They  tell  you  not  to  believe  there  is  such 
a  thing  a?  pain,  and  then  you  won't  feel  it.    But  when 
they  go  to  the  dentisl's  and  get  into  the  chair  they 
jump  just  as  much  us  any  one  else!    And  in  this  fool- 
ish belief  they  wc  dying  by  the  score;  by  the  miserable 
madness  of  Christian  Science,  that  dares  to  deny  sick- 
ness, which  exists  al!  the  same,  and  sweeps  them  into 
premature  graven.     Denying  a  fact  docs  not  alter  a 
fact    and  denying  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  Cod  docs 
uot  alter  the  fact  that  He  is  the  Son  of  Gcd.    It  only 
makes  you  guilty  of  robbing  a  divine  Person  of  the 
honour  that  is  His  due.     Listen:    There  are  five  in- 
disputably  divine  testimonies  to   the   deily   o'  Jesus 
Christ.    Tn  the  first  place,  there  i.-  the  tesLimony  of  the 
divine  life  He  lived,  for  He  lived  as  never  man  lived. 
Napoleon  B      parte  said,  "I  know  men,  but  Jesus  Christ 
was  no  (mere)  man."    In  the  second  place,  there  is  the 
lestimony  of  the  divine  words  He  spoke,  for  He  spoke 
as  never  man  spoke.    In  t'ne  third  place,  there  is  the 
testimony  of  the  divine  works  He  wrought,  for  He 


176 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


wrought  as  never  man  wronght ;  not  merely  healing  the 
Bick,  but  cleansing  the  lepers,  stilling  the  tempest,  rais- 
ing the  dead,  and  feeding  the  five  thousand  by  a  ere- 
ative  act  with  five  small  loaves  and  two  small  fishes. 
In  the  foarth  place,  then,  is  the  divine  attestation  of 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  The  resurrection  of 
Christ  from  the  dead  is  the  best  proven  fact  of  history : 
it  is  proved  by  such  indisputable  evidence  that  I  wish 
I  had  time  to  do  in  London  what  I  did  in  Sydney, 
meet  the  skeptics  and  agnostics  of  the  city,  and  prove 
to  them  that  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead;  and  I  believe 
I  should  see  in  some  of  your  agnostics  and  skeptics 
the  honesty  which  some  of  the  Sydney  skeptics  showed, 
in  owning  their  arguments  beaten  and  coming  right 
out  and  acknowledging  the  truth  of  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  did  rise  from  the  dead.  Before 
they  crucified  Him  He  said,  "You  will  crucify  Me,  but 
God  will  set  His  seal  on  My  claims  by  raising  Me  from 
the  dead."  They  did  not  believe  Him ;  the  Unitarians 
of  the  day  crucified  Him  for  claiming  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  They  laid  Him  in  a  sepulchre,  and  put  the 
seal  of  the  Roman  Government  on  the  stone,  which 
no  one  dared  to  break.  But  on  the  third  day  the  Spirit 
of  the  living  God  breathed  through  ihe  sleepiTig  clay, 
and  the  crucified  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  and  God 
proclaimed  in  unmistakable  tones  to  all  agta,  **This  is 
My  beloved  Son."  In  the  fifth  place,  there  is  the 
testimony  of  His  divine  influence  upon  all  subsequent 
history.  There  is  no  question  that  Jesus  Christ  claimed 
to  be  divine;  no  competent  student  will  deny  that  He 
claimed  to  be  divine.  Well,  then.  He  was  one  of  three 
things;  He  was  either  divine,  as  He  claimed  to  be, 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       177 

or  dae  He  was  the  most  audacioua  impostor  the  world 
has  ever  seen,  or  else  He  was  the  most  hopeless  lunatic 
the  world  has  ever  seen.    He  must  have  been  one  of 
these  three.    Of  all  the  irrational  systems  of  philosophy 
that  of  tJnitarianism  is  the  most  irrational.    It  says 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  not  divine,  but  was  a  good  man, 
perhaps  the  best  man  that  ever  walked  the  earth.    I 
say  if  He  was  not  divine  He  was  not  good,  for  He 
was  an  impostor.    You  had  a  man  in  this  city  a  few 
months  ago  who  claimed  to  be  divine,  and  you  aU  de- 
cided that  he  was  either  an  impostor,  or  most  of  you, 
perhaps,  took  the  more  charitable  view  that  he  was 
a  lunatic.     Jesus   Christ  was   either  divine,   as   He 
claimed  to  be,  or  else  He  was  the  most  audacious  im- 
postor the  world  has  ever  seen,  or  else  He  was  the 
greatest  lunatic.    Take  your  choice.    Is  there  any  man 
here  to-night  that  will  say  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a 
lunatic,  and  that  His  influence  on  history  has  been 
the  influence  of  a  lunatic?     Nobody  but  a  lunatic 
will  say  so.    Will  any  man  here  dare  to  say  that  the 
influence  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  history  of  the  world 
has  been  the  influence  of  an  impostor?    No  one  but  an 
impostor  would  say  so.    Then  if  not  a  lunatic  or  an 
impostor,  what?   The  Son  of  God!    Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Son  of  God,  and  every  man  or  woman  that  goes  away 
from  here  to-night  rejecting  Christ  will  go  away  re- 
jecting the  Son  of  God.    Every  man  or  woman  that 
goe-  away  from  here  to-night  denying  Christ  will  go 
away  denying  the  Son  of  God.    Every  man  or  woman 
thai  goes  away  from  here  to-night  shutting  Christ 
out  of  his  heart  will  go  away  shutting  the  Son  of  God 
out  of  his  heart.    Every  man  or  woman  that  goes  away 


1.0 


2.8 


2.5 
2.2 

1.8 


MICROCOPY  RESOLUTION  TEST  CHART 

NATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  STANDARDS 

STANDARD  REFERENCE  r\^ATERIAL  1010a 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


178 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


from  here  to-night  taking  his  stand  against  Christ  will 
go  away  taking  his  stand  against  the  Son  of  Ciod.  Men, 
if  you  were  not  blindea  by  sin  to  the  thought  of  your 
awful  guilt,  you  would  fall  on  your  faces  now  and 
cry,  "God  be  merciful  to  me,  so  awful  a  sinner!"  I 
trust  some  of  you  will  do  it  before  you  go  away. 

3.  Jesus  Christ  is  not  only  your  King;  He  is  not 
only  divine;  He  is  something  more  yet.  You  say. 
What?  Your  Saviour,  the  One  who  was  wounded  for 
your  transgressions,  bruised  for  your  iniquities,  upon 
whom  the  chastisement  of  your  peace  was  laid;  and 
oh,  men  and  women,  if  you  reject  Him,  if  you  deny 
Him,  if  you  take  your  stand  against  Him,  if  you  shut 
Him  out  of  your  hearts,  you  will  be  guilty  of  the 
most  awful  ingratitude.  Never  mother  loved  her  son, 
never  mother  suffered  for  her  child,  as  Christ  has 
loved  us  and  suffered  for  us.  "Though  He  was  rich,  yet 
for  our  sakes  He  became  poor,  that  we  through  His 
poverty  might  become  rich.  Being  in  the  form  of  God, 
He  thought  it  not  a  thing  to  be  grasped  to  be  equal 
with  God,  but  He  emptied  Himself  and  took  upon 
Himself  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  man,  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  yea, 
the  death  of  the  Cross."  For  you  and  me !  Will  you, 
will  you  reject  Him,  will  you  deny  Him,  will  you  shut 
Him  out  of  your  hearts,  and  will  you  take  your  stand 
against  Him?     Oh,  men  and  women,  what  are  you 

made  of? 

A  man  came  to  me  one  night  and  said:  "I  don't 
believe  in  your  Christianity."  I  said,  ''Why  not?" 
He  said,  "It  is  irrational."  I  asked  why.  "Why,"  he 
said,  "you  teach,  don't  you,  that  if  a  man  leads  a  moral 


flgg^ 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       179 

life  and  does  his  duty  by  his  neighbour  and  in  bubiness, 
treating  his  employees  fairly,  he  will  be  lost  for  ever 
for  nothing  worse  than  the  one  thing  oi  rejecting  Jesus 
Christ.    That  is  not  just,"  he  said.    I  said,  "Hold  on 
a  minute;  suppose  you  have  a  mother  who  is  one  of 
the  purest  women  who  ever  lived.    Suppose  your  moth- 
er loved  you  even  as  few  mothers  loved  their  sons. 
Suppose  your  mother  if  necessary  was  ready  to  lay 
down  her  life  for  you  to  save  yours."    He  said,  "She 
would."    "Suppose  you  should  do  your  duty,"  I  said, 
"by  your  wife  and  children  and  by  your  neighbour,  and 
in  your  place  of  business,  and  treat  everybody  honestly ; 
suppose  you  were  upright  in  all  the  relations  of  life, 
and  treated  every  person  right  but  one,  and  that  one 
your  mother,   who,   you   say,   is   so   good,   who,  you 
say,  would  be  ready  to  die  for  you,  who,  you  say,  loves 
you  so.     Suppose  you  should  turn  her  out  of  doors 
on  to  the  street,  leaving  her  there  naked  and  to  starve. 
What  would  you  think  of  yourself?"  He  said,  "I  would 
be  a  scoundrel."     "Well,"  I  said,  "Jesus  Christ  loves 
you  more  than  a  mother  ever  did,  and  Jesus  Christ 
would  not  only  die  for  you,  but  He  did  die  for  you. 
Jesus  Christ  has  done  more  for  you  than  any  mother 
ever  did  for  her  child.     And  now,  while  you  say  you 
are    doing    vour    duty    by    everybody    else,    you    are 
trampling  under  foot  Jesus  Christ."    I  said,  "What  do 
you  think  of  yourself?"     He  saw  it,  that  he  was  a 
scoundrel.     And  he  was.    And  so  are  you,  and  so  are 
you,  every  one  of  you,  that  is  rejecting  Jesus  <~'hrist. 
Supposing  you  had  a  man  here  in  London  who  did 
his  duty  to  his  wife  and  children,  who  did  his  duty  by 
hia  neighbour,  who  did  his  duty  in  politics,  in  business, 


180 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


and  by  every  person  but  one,  and  that  one  his  mother, 
who  loved  him  and  brought  him  up,  who  had  wasted 
her  life  upon  him,  and  was  now  feeble  and  decrepit 
simpiy  because  she  poured  her  life  out  for  him.    And 
while  he  did  his  duty  by  everybody  else,  he  turned 
that  mother,  to  whom  he  owed  everything,  out  into 
the  street  to  starve.    Would  his  doing  his  duty  towards 
his  wife  cover  the   infamy  of  his   treatment  to  his 
mother?    Would  his  doing  his  duty  towards  his  neigh- 
bour cover  the  infamy  of  that  treatment;  would  the 
doing  of  his  duty  in  politics,  in  business,  cover  the 
infamy  of  his  treatment  of  his  mother?    Never!    And 
will  your  doing  your  duty  by  your  wife,  mother,  father, 
children,  brothers,  sisters,  and  neighbours,  cover  the 
infamy,  the  hideous  black  ingratitude  of  your  treatment 
of  the  Christ  who  gave  up  Heaven  and  died  on  the 
Cross  for  you?    Never !    You  are  rejecting  the  one  that 
was  wounded  for  your  transgressions,  bruised  for  your 
iniquities,  upon  whom  the  chastisement  of  your  peace 
was  laid;  you  are  denying  overy  day  of  your  lives 
the  One  who  was  wounded   for  your  transgressions, 
bruised  for  your  iniquities,  upon  whom  the  chastise- 
ment of  your  peace  was  laid;  you  are  shutting  out  of 
your  heart  the  One  who  was  wounded  for  your  trans- 
gressions, bruised  for  your  iniquities,  upon  whom  the 
chastisement  of  your  peace  was  laid;  you  are  taking 
your  stand  against  the  One  who  was  wounded  for  your 
transgressions,  bruised  for  your  iniquities,  upon  whom 
the  chastisement  of  your  peace  was  laid. 

Oh,  men  and  women  of  London,  in  the  light  of  what 
depends  on  your  choice,  in  the  light  of  what  Jesus 


A  MOST  IMPORTANT  QUESTION       181 


Christ  is,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  Christ  to- 
night ? 

It  was  an  awful  crisis  in  the  life  of  Pontius  Pilate 
when  he  asked  the  question  of  the  text.     There  sat 
Pontius  Pilate   in  all   the   dignity   and  power  of  a 
Koman   governor;   and   there   stood   Jesus   Christ   in 
all  the  heauty  of  His  perfect  manhood,  in  all  the  dig- 
nity and  glory  of  His  perfect  Deity,  in  all  the  won- 
drousness  of  His  matchless  love ;  and  there  sat  Pontius 
Pilate  deep  in  thought,  deciding  what  to  do.     There 
were  two  kinds  of  voices  speaking  in  Pilate's  heart — 
higher  voices  and  lower  voices ;  heavenly  voices  and  in- 
fernal voices.    Listen  to  the  higher  voices.    The  voice 
of  reason  said,  "Pilate,  release  Him ;  He  is  innocent." 
The  voice  of  conscience  said,  "Pilate  release  Him ;  He 
is  innocent."  The  voice  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  whispering 
in  Pilate's  heart,  said,  "Pilate,  release  Him."     The 
voice  of  common  decency  said,  "Pilate,  release  Him; 
He  is  innocent."    Everything  that  was  noble  and  true 
and  just  in  Pilate's  heart  said,  "Release  Him."     But, 
alas,  there  were  other  voices,  infernal  voices,  speak- 


ing, 


..,^,  and  Pilate  is  listening  to  them.  There  was  the 
voice  of  cowardice,  of  fear  of  what  the  Jews  will  say, 
that  whispered,  "Pilate,  crucify  Him."  There  was 
the  voice  of  avarice,  the  greed  for  gold,  saying,  "Pilate, 
crucify  Him."  There  was  the  voice  of  low  political 
policy  whispering,  "Pilate,  crucify  Him."  And  Pilate 
sits  there  deep  in  thought.  At  last,  he  decides,  and 
he  decides  wrong;  and  his  name  has  come  down  to 
everlasting  infamy. 

It  is  a  more  solemn  moment  anr'  a  more  awful 
crisis  for  you  to-night,  for  you  know  l  'tter  who  Jesus 


182 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


is.  There  you  sit,  and  there  stands  Jesus  again,  un- 
seen, bat  there  He  surely  stands,  in  all  the  dignity 
and  beauty  of  His  perfect  manhood;  there  He  stands 
in  all  the  glory  of  His  perfect  Deity ;  there  He  stands  in 
all  the  wondrousness  of  His  matchless  love,  crowned 
with  thorns,  and  with  pierced  hands.  And  there  you 
sit,  trying  to  decide  what  to  do  with  Him.  In  your 
heart  there  are  higher  voices  and  lower  voices.  There 
is  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  of  God  which  says,  "Accept 
Him;  confess  Him;  take  your  stand  on  His  side  to- 
night." There  is  the  voice  of  conscience  which  says, 
"Accept  Him."  There  is  the  voice  of  gratitude  which 
says,  "Accept  Him."  Everything  that  is  noble  and 
good  and  true  in  you  says,  "Accept  Him ;  confess  Him ; 
let  Him  into  your  heart ;  take  your  stand  on  His  side." 
But,  alas,  there  are  lower  voices  in  your  heart  to-night. 
There  is  in  your  heart  the  voice  of  cowardice,  the 
fear  of  what  people  will  say,  which  says,  "Reject  Him 
to-night;  take  your  stand  against  Him."  There  is 
the  voice  of  avarice,  the  greed  for  gold  that  might  slip 
through  your  fingers  if  you  became  a  real  Christian, 
and  that  says,  "Reject  Him."  There  is  the  voice  of 
lust,  low  and  beastly  that  says,  "Reject  Him."  There 
is  the  voice  of  low  political  trickery,  which  says  it 
will  rob  you  of  influence  in  your  political  party  if  you 
become  a  Christian,  and  that  savs,  "Reject  Him." 
Everything  that  is  lo^r  and  base  and  mean  and  devilish 
in  your  heart  says,  "Reject  Him ;  deny  Him ;  shut  Him 
out  of  your  heart;  take  your  stand  against  Him." 

Men  and  women,  which  are  you  going  to  listen  to? 
What  are  you  going  to  decide?  God  help  you  to  decide 
right  to-night. 


^      .     ■*! 


xin 


ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  UTTERANCES  THAT 
EVER  FELL  FROM  THE  LIPS  OF  THE  SON 
OF  GOD 

"Ye  will  not  come  to  Me,  that  ye  might  have  life."— John  v.  40. 

That  is  one  of  the  saddest  utterances  that  our  Saviour 
ever  spoke.  I  wish  I  could  reproduce  His  tender 
tones  and  His  loving  look  when  He  uttered  the  words. 
I  believe  it  would  break  your  heart.  He  came  down 
from  Heaven  with  its  glory  to  earth  with  its  shame, 
to  bring  life  to  men.  He  went  up  and  down  among 
men  proclaiming  that  life  could  be  obtained  by  simply 
coming  to  Him,  but  men  would  not  come.  And  at 
last  He  turned  round  upon  the  men  who  had  not  come 
to  Him,  and  with  a  heart  aching  with  disappointment, 
and  with  tones  full  of  yearning  pity  He  said :  "Ye  will 
not  come  to  Me,  that  ye  might  have  life." 

I.  Why  ant  Man  is  Lost. 

Those  words  contain  the  explanation  why  any  man 
is  lost.  If  any  man  is  lost  it  will  be  because  he  will 
not  come  to  Christ.  If  any  man  or  woman  goes  out 
of  this  hall  to-night  unsaved,  that  will  be  the  reason. 
Jesus  Christ  offers  life  to  every  man  and  woman  here 
on  the  simple  condition  that  you  come  to  Him,  and  if 

181 


184 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


you  go  out  of  this  hall  to-night  without  it,  it  is  simply 
because  you  would  not  come  to  Him. 

1.  No  man  is  lost  because  he  needs  to  be  lost.  No 
man  needs  to  be  lost.  God  has  provided  salvation  for 
everybody.  The  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  covers  the 
sins  of  every  man.  He  tasted  death — as  wo  are  told 
in  the  Word  of  God— for  every  man,  and  the  offer  of 
salvation  is  made  to  every  man.  If  any  man  does 
not  take  it,  it  is  because  he  will  not  come  and  get  it. 
No  man  is  lost  because  of  any  purpose  or  ":  -  ^f 
God.    It  is  the  will  of  God,  we  are  told  er^ 

His  word,  that  all  men  should  be  saved,  ai  .   ' 
not  willing"— as  we  read  in  2  Peter  iii.  9—'-   .       ny 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance." 
And  if  any  man  is  lost,  it  is  solely  because  He  will  not 

come. 

2.  No  man  is  lost  because  he  has  gone  down  so 
deeply  into  sin.  Indeed  it  is  true  that  all  of  us  have 
gone  down  into  sin  so  deeply  that  we  deserve  to  be 
lost.  But  ''this  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of 
all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners"— even  the  chief.  He  can  do  it.  He 
is  doing  it  every  day.  Christ  did  save  the  chief  of 
sinners— Saul  of  Tarsus— and  He  has  power  to-night 
to  save  any  man  or  woman  in  London.  No  man  or 
woman  is  lost  because  they  have  gone  down  so  deeply 
into  sin,  but  simply  because  they  will  not  come  to  that 
only  Saviour  who  has  power  to  save  them  from  their 

sins,  1-  -    1    a 

3.  No  man  is  lost  because  he  la  too  weak  to  lead 

the  Christian  life.     It  is  true  that  every  one  of  us 
is  too  weak  to  lead  a  true  Christian  life  in  our  own 


ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  UTTERANCES  186 

strength;  but,  thank  God,  we  have  a  Saviour  who 
"is  able  to  keep  us  from  falling,  and  to  present  us 
faultless  before  the  presence  of  His  glory  with  ex- 
ceeding joy."  If  any  man  is  lost,  it  is  solely  because 
he  will  not  come  to  Christ.  If  any  man  or  woman  or 
young  person  goes  out  of  this  hall  to-night  unsaved 
it  is  no  one's  fault  but  your  own,  and  the  whole  rea- 
son will  be  that  you  will  not  come  to  Christ  and  obtain 
life. 

n.  Why  Men  will  not  come  to  Christ. 

But  why  will  not  men  come  to  Christ?    There  are 
many  things  that  keep  them  from  coming. 

1.    The  first  one  is  sin.    I  believe  that  sin  is  keep- 
ing more  men  and  women  from  coming  to  Christ  than 
almost  anything  else.     There  are  a  great  many  luen 
In  this  world  who  know  their  need  of  a  Saviour,  who 
long  for  a  Saviour,  who  have  a  deep  desire  to  take 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  they  know  if  they  come 
to  Him  they  must  leave  their  sins  behind.     A  man 
cannot  come  to  Christ  and  retain  his  sin.    You  have 
to  choose  between  Jesus  Christ  and  sin.     IMen  know- 
that,  but  they  are  not  willing  to  give  up  their  sins. 
At  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  services  in  Chicago,  after  he 
had  preached  on  the  'Prodigal  Son,"  a  fine-looking 
young  fellow  came  to  me  and  said,  "That  was  a  good 
sermon  to-night.    He  pictured  my  case  exactly.    I  am 
that  prodigal  son."    I  said.  "Don't  you  want  to  come 
home  to  the  Father  to-niglii,  then?"    He  said,  "I  do." 
I  said,  "And  the  Father  wants  you  'to  come."    He  said, 
"I  know  it."    I  said,  "Will  you  come?"    He  said,  "I 
will  not."    I  asked,  "Why  tot?"    He  replied,  «I  am 


186 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


entangled  in  the  meshes  of  a  disgusting  sin."  'Then,** 
I  said,  "will  you  not  give  it  up  to-night?"  "No,  sir," 
he  said,  "I  will  not."  That  young  man  went  out  of 
that  place  where  he  had  heen  brought  face  to  face 
with  God's  love,  deliberately  choosing  a  vile  sin  and 
death  instead  of  Jesus  Christ  and  eternal  life.  I  dare- 
say there  are  men  and  women  who  will  go  out  of  this 
hall  to-night  with  a  clear  view  of  the  fact  that  they  can 
come  to  Christ  and  be  pardoned,  bu<^  you  will  not  come 
because  there  is  some  definite  sin  ii.  'onr  life  or  heart 
that  you  are  not  willing  to  give  up. 

2.  The  love  of  money  keeps  many  men  from  coming 
to  Christ.  Many  a  man  knows  that  if  he  came  to 
Christ  he  would  lose  money  by  it.  There  are  things  in 
his  business  that  would  need  to  be  given  up.  But  he 
is  not  willing  to  sacrifice  the  profits  he  gets  in  crooked 
ways.  He  is  deliberately  choosing  a  larger  income  and 
eternal  death  instead  of  Jesus  Christ  and  eternal  life. 
How  many  a  young  fellow  has  come  to  me  and  when 
I  have  urged  him  to  come  to  Christ  he  has  said,  "I 
believe  it  is  a  good  thing,  bii'  I  should  have  to  give 
up  my  situation  if  I  did."  Two  young  ladies  said  to 
Mrs.  Torrey  at  one  of  our  services  in  Australia,  when 
they  seemed  to  be  very  near  decision,  "We  cannot  come 
to  Christ.  "We  are  employed  in  a  large  shop,  and  our 
employer  requires  us  to  misrepresent  the  goods.  We 
cannot  do  that  and  be  Christians,  can  we?"  "No, 
you  cannot,"  Mrs.  Torrey  replied;  and  the  young 
ladies  said,  "If  we  don't,  then  we  lose  our  positions." 
God  pity  the  man  or  the  merchant  who  requires  his  em- 
ployees to  lie!  And  yet  there  nre  such  who  profess  to 
be  Christians.     God  have  mercy  on  such  hypocrites. 


ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  UTTERANCES  187 


', 


who  are  hurrying  on  fast  to  an  eternal  hell— every  one 
of  them.  How  sad  it  is  that  those  young  women  were 
ready  to  choose  their  position  and  small  salary  in  the 
place  of  Jesus  Christ  and  life  eternal ! 

3.     Love  of  pleasure  is  kecying  many  a  man  and 
woman  from  coming   to  Christ.     How  many  young 
men  and  young  women  there  are  in  London  who  know 
they  need  Christ  and  would  like  to  be  Christians,  but 
they  say  if  they  come  to   Christ  they  will  have  to 
give  up  this  or  that  pleasure— the  dance  or  the  card 
party  or  the  theatre.     "I  can  never  do  it,'"  they  say, 
and  they  are  choosing  the  dance  or  card  party  or  thea- 
tre or  some  other  form   of  worldly  amusement  and 
death  instead  of  Jesus  Christ  and  life.    Dr.  John  Hall, 
of  New  York  City,  was  at  one  time  pastor  of  perhaps 
the  wealthiest  church  in  New  York  City.    There  came 
to  him  one  day  a  young  lady  who  was  a  most  beautiful 
waltzer,  and  she  said,  "If  I  become  a  Christian  will  I 
have  to  give  up  my  dancing?"     He  replied,  "If  you 
become  a  Christian  and  Jesus  Christ  asks  you  to  give 
up  your  dancing,  you  must  be  ready  to  do  it."     She 
replied,  "If  I  must  choose  between  Jesus  Christ  and 
dancing,  I  will  hold  on  to  my  dancing  and  let  Jesus 
Christ  go."     What  an  awful  choice!     You  have  not 
said  it;  perhaps  you  never  thought  it  so  definitely; 
but  some  of  you  to-night  are  making  that  very  choice. 
You  feel  you  could  not  be  a  real  Christian  and  hold 
on  to  your  worldly  pleasure,   and  you  reject   Je^us 
Christ  rather  than  give  up  your  worldly  pleasure.    You 
are  saying  by  your  action,  "if  I  must  choose  between 
Jesus  Christ  and  my  dancing  or  card-playing  or  thea- 
tre, or  this  or  that  and  the  other  thing,  I  will  hold  on 


188 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


to  my  dancing,  or  whatever  it  be,  and  let  Jeans  Chrisi 


» 


go.  . 

4     The  fear  of  man  is  keeping  many  a  man  and 
woman  in  London  from  coming  to  Christ  and  obtam- 
in*'  eternal  life.    How  many  there  are  who  when  the 
invitation  is  given  would  like  to  stand  up,  but  they  eay 
if  I  should  do  it  my  friends  in  business  or  society 
would  hear  about  it,  and  what  would  they  «*y?    ^ou 
keep  your  seat  and  you  reject  Jesus  Ohnst  for  fear 
of  what  they  would  say.     In  Proverbs  xxu.  25    we 
read:     "The  fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare.       It  is 
bringing  a  snare  that  is  landing  many  in  a  path  that 
leads  to  eternal  ruin  instead  of  to  Jesus  Christ  and  life 
eternal.    I  would  a  great  deal  rather  that  men  would 
laugh  at  me  down  here  for  doing  a  wise  thing,  than 
that  the  devils  in  hell  should  laugh  at  me  for  all  eter- 
nity for  doing  a  foolish  thing.    We  have  in  our  coun- 
try a  very  foolish  custom.    I  think  you  have  it  to  a 
certain  extent  in  your  country  also,  but  perhaps  not 
to  the  same  extent  as  we  have  it  in  ours.    It  is  called 
"April  Fools'  Day."    On  the  first  day  of  April  all  the 
fools  in  America  try  to  make  fools  of  all  the  other 
fools.    One  custom  is  to  bore  a  hole  in  a  silver  com, 
and  after  attaching  a  string  to  it,  put  it  on  the  side- 
walk.   When  any  one  comes  along  and  stoops  to  pick 
it  up,  the  coin  is  pulled  away,  and  they  cry  "April 
fool."    Another  joke  is  to  take  a  wallet  and  fill  it  with 
dust  and  dirt  and  chips  and  throw  it  on  the  sidewalk, 
and  when  any  one  picks  it  up  and  opens  it  to  cry 
"April  fool !"    One  day  a  farmer  went  to  his  bank  m 
Baltimore  and  drew  some  money,  which  he  put  for 
safe-keeping  into  his  wallet.    After  walking  some  dis- 


C  NE  OP  THE  SADDEST  UTTERAI\.  jiS  189 

ianr  ^  he  felt  in  his  pocket  and  found  tae  wallet  had 
gone.     Betracing  his  steps,  he  had  not  gone  many 
blocks  when  he  saw  a  circ'j  of  people  round  a  wallet, 
no  one  daring  to  touch  it,  thinking  it  was  full  of  saw- 
dust  and   shavings.     When  the   farmer  entered  the 
circle  and  picked  up  the  wallet,  all  cried  "April  fool !" 
but  when  he  opened  it  and  counted  the  money  to  see 
if  it  were  all  there,  they  felt  that  they  were  the  fools. 
I  tell  you  I!  it  a  day  is     iming  for  those  men  and 
women  who  laugh  at  yox.     »ecause  you  choose  Christ 
and  eternal  life,  v.  hen  they  will  say  that  you  have 
made  a  wise  choice    and  they  were  the  fools.     Don't 
let  them  iu'igh  you  nut  of  life  eternal.    At  one  of  my 
missions    .   isked  a  woman  how  she  was  getting  on. 
She  replied,  "I  am  not  getting  on  at  all ;  I  am  perfectly 
miserable."    "Why  is  that?"  I  said.    "I  don't  know," 
she  replied.     Another  said,  "I  can  tell  you  why  it  is, 
she  has  never  told  her  husband  she  has  accepted  Jesus 
Christ."    "Is  that  so?"  I  asked  her.    "It  is,'"  she  re- 
plied.    "But  you  stood  up  in  the  meeting?"  I  said. 
"Yes,  but  not  when  he  was  present."    "Well,  you  must 
tell  him."    "I  can't  tell  my  husband ;  he  would  laugh 
at  me,''  she  ans.vered.     "Never  mind  how  much  he 
lai^ghs,"  I  said.     "I  can't  do  it,"  was  all  she  would 
reply.    The  next  Sunday  night  the  lady  and  gentleman 
were  sitting  together  in  one  of  the  front   seats.     I 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  my  address  and  said,  "Every 
woman  in  the  house  who  will   say  that   from   this 
time  on  my  husband  shall  have  an  out-and-out  Chris- 
tian for  his  wife,  please  rise."     This  woman  imme- 
diately rose  to  h^'   feet.     ''Xow,"  I  said,  "every  man 
who  will  say  from  this  time  my  wife  shall  have  a 


190 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


true  Christian  OBan  for  her  husband,  please  rise."  That 
man  was  the  first  man  in  the  house  on  his  feet.  Show 
people  the  beauty  and  power  of  a  living  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  you  will  bring  them  with  you. 

5.     An  unforgiving  spirit  is  another  thing  that  is 
keeping  men  and  women  from  coming  to  Jesus  Christ. 
-They  know  they  cannot  come,  and  bring  a  heart  full 
of  hate,  and  so  they  choose  bitterness  and  hatred  and 
death  instead  of  Christ  and  life.     One  afternoon  at 
Cleveland,  after  Mr.  Moody  had  been  speaking,  he 
brought  me  to  a  lady  to  show  her  the  way  of  life-    I 
had  been  speaking  to  her  trying  this  and  that  passage 
to  see  what  was  in  the  way  of  her  accepting  Christ, 
when  suddenly  I  turned  to  her  and  said,  "Is  there 
somebody  you  cannot  forgive?"     She  looked  quickly 
at  me,  and  said,  "Who  told  you?"     I  said,  "Nobody 
told  me,  and  I  have  never  seen  you  before  to-night." 
That  was  her  trouble,  and  that  is  the  trouble  with 
some  of  you.     Some  one  has  done  you  an  injury,  or 
you  think  they  have,  and  you  will  not  come  to  Jesus 
Christ  because  you  want  to  cherish  this  bitter  grudge 
in  your  heart.     I  once  talked  about  two  hours  to  a 
young  lady,  trying  to  lead  her  to  Christ,  but  at  last 
she  said,  "There  is  somebody  I  cannot  forgive."    I  told 
her,  "You  must,  or  be  lost  for  ever."    But  she  replied, 
"I  cannot ;  they  have  done  me  a  wrong."    I  said,  "If 
they  had  not  done  you  a  w^rong,  there  would  not  be 
anything  to  forgive.    Have  they  wronged  you  as  much 
as  you  have  wronged  Jesus  Christ?"    In  the  eighteenth 
chapter  of  ^fatthew,  commencing  at  the  twenty-third 
verse,  we  have  the  parable  of  the  servant  who  was 
forgiven  a  large  debt,  and  then  would  not  forgive  his 


mi 


ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  UTTERANCES  191 

fellow-servant  a  trifling  sum.  That  ia  a  picture  of  the 
unforgiving  one  to-day.  I  said  to  her,  "Kead  that  in- 
cident; you  must  forgive,"  But  she  said,  *1  can't." 
"Are  you  willing,"  I  then  asked  her,  "that  God  should 
take  the  hittemess  out  of  your  heart?"  She  replied, 
"I  am."  Then  I  said,  "Kneel  down  and  ask  Him;" 
ax.d  she  knelt  down,  and  scarcely  had  her  knees  touched 
the  floor,  when  she  burst  into  tears,  as  she  felt  the  feel- 
ing of  hate  taken  away.  Are  you  going  to  reject  Jesus 
Christ  and  eternal  life  for  the  sake  of  hating  some- 
body?   God  have  mercy  upon  you. 

6.  Self-will  stands  between  many  a  person  and 
Christ  and  eternal  life.  There  are  a  great  many  people 
in  this  world  who  are  not  willing  to  surrender  their 
wills  to  anybody,  not  even  to  God.  They  are  bound  to 
have  their  own  way.  A  woman  told  me  that  on  Friday 
night.  She  said,  "I  cannot  give  my  will  up  to  any- 
body." What  foolishness!  WTio  is  this  God  to  whom 
we  ask  you  to  surrender  your  will?  God  is  love.  Is 
it  not  wisdom  to  surrender  our  wills  to  infinite  love 
and  wisdom?  Oh,  the  folly  of  those  who  will  not  sur- 
render their  wills  to  God  and  His  love. 

7.  There  is  one  more  thing  that  is  keeping  people 
from  coming  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  is  pride.  I 
believe  that  there  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  people  in  London  to-night  that  are  kept  from  Him 
because  of  the  pride  in  their  hearts.  Pride  manifests 
itself  in  many  ways.  It  makes  men  and  women,  who 
have  led  moral  and  respectable  lives,  unwilling  to  admit 
that  they  are  lost  sinners,  and  must  come  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  through  the  same  door  as  the  thief 
or  the  harlot  or  the  drunkard.    You  will  all  have  to 


192 


BEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


get  into  the  kingdom  in  that  way.    Look  at  ChrisfB 
parable  of  the  publican  and  sinner.    First  there  came 
the  Pharisee  to  the  temple  to  pray,  a  moral,  upright, 
prominent  citizen.     But  what  is  his  prayer?     It  is 
just  a  parade  of  his  own  virtues.    "God,  I  thank  thee, 
that  I  am  not  as  the  rest  of  men,  extortioners,  unjust, 
adulterers,  or  even  as  this  publican.    I  fast  twice  in  the 
week;  I  give  tithes  of  all  that  I  possess."     Do  you 
know  what  Jesus  Christ  says  about  him?    He  says  that 
this  man  went  down  to  his  house  unforgiven.    Then 
came  the  publican— an  outcast,  despised  by  everybody, 
but  a  man  who  had  been  brought  to  the  consciousness 
of  his  sin.     He  "would  not  lift  up  so  much  as  his 
eyes  unto  Heaven,  but  smote  upon  his  breast,  saying, 
'God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner"' — the  sinner.    Do 
you  know  what  Jesus  Christ  says?    "I  tell  you,  this 
man  went  down  to  his  house  justified  rather  than  the 
other;  for  every  one  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be 
abased ;  and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 
I  believe  that  very  many  people  are  being  kept  from 
Christ  and  eternal  life  by  the  pride  of  their  hearts. 
In  Chicago  I  was  once  telling  the  story  of  a  woman 
who  had  been  away  down  in  sin  and  been  saved;  and 
afterwards  a  refined  lady  came  to  me  and  said,  "You 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  that  woman  was  saved?" 
The  strange  thing  was  that  the  lady  was  a  Universalist, 
and  believed  that  everybody  could  be  saved.     I  told 
her  "the  woman  was  saved,  and  what  is  more,  she  was 
saved  in  precisely  the  same  way  that  you  will  be  saved 
if  ever  you  are  saved."     That  is  God's  truth.     Ah! 
but  some  of  you  people  are  not  willing  to  lay  your 
pride  in  the  dust.    You  are  not  willing  to  throw  your 


ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  UTTERANCES  193 

pride  to  the  winds,  and  go  to  God  and  seek  pardon 
through  the  atoning  blood  of  the  Son  of  God.    You 
will  never  be  saved   any  other  way.     A  lady  once 
came  to  me  and  said,  "My  Christian  experience  is  not 
satisfactory."     I  said,  "I  don't  think  you  have  any 
Christian  experience."    "Why,"  she  said,  "I  have.     I 
am  the  widow  of  a  minister  and  a  member  of  a  church." 
"Well,"  I  responded,  "I  don't  think  that  you  ever  were 
saved 'in  your  life.    No,  you  never  were,  for  you  never 
saw  yourself  as  a  lost  sinner  in  your  life."    She  said, 
"I  never  did,  because  I  am  not."    I  replied,  "Let  me 
deal  frankly  with  you.    You  are  just  full  of  conceit. 
Unless  God  opens  your  eyes  to  see  that  you  are  not 
essentially  better  than  the  vilest  sinner,  and  unless 
you  come  to  God  and  cry  for  mercy,  through  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ,  you  will  never  be  saved." 
She  said,  "You  are  cruel."    "No,"  I  said,  "I  am  kind. 
You  are  a  physician,  I  believe?"    She  replied,  "Yes." 
Then  I  said,  "Suppose  a  patient  had  a  tumor,  and  you 
cut  it  out  to  save  her  life.    Would  you  call  that  cruel?" 
"No,"  she  said,  "I  should  say  that  was  the  kindest 
thing  I  could  do."    "Well,"  I  said,  "you  have  a  tumor. 
Your  pride  and  conceit  are  blinding  your  eyes  so  that 
you  cannot  see  that  you  are  a  poor,  vi^  •,  worthless  sin- 
ner, and  Jesus  Christ  died  for  you  on  the  Cross."    The 
woman  had  the  good  sense  at  last  to  see  it,  but  that 
i^  more  than  some  of  you  have.     I  tell  you  among 
the  people  who  are  in  this  hall  there  are  a  lot  of  people 
who  are  being  kept   away  from  Christ  by  spiritual 

But  pride  operates  in  another  way.    Oh,  that  by  the 
help  of  God  I  could  tear  these  awful  scales  from  your 


194 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


eyes.     Pride  makes  people  set  themselves  not  to  do 
certain  things  which  they  are  asked  to  do.    *'I  am  not 
coming/'  they  say,  "to  the  meeting,"  or  "I  am  not 
going  to  the  front  seats,"  or  "I  am  not  going  to  the 
inquiry  room.    A  person  can  be  saved  without  that." 
They  can,  beyond  a  doubt;  but  if  you  make  it  a  point 
that  you  won't  do  something  of  that  kind,  you  won't 
be  saved  until  you  do.     In  Mr.  Finney's  day  many 
people  found  salvation  under  a  certain  tree.     One 
prominent  man  said  he  would  not  go  out  there.     It 
was  not  necessary,  of  course.     He  did  all  sorts  of 
things,  but  he  would  not  do  that.    He  got  no  peace, 
however,  and  one  day  he  stole  out  of  the  town  the 
back  way,  and  made  his  way  to  the  place  where  the 
tree  was,  and  climbed  the  fence  around  it.    When  he 
went  to  kneel  down  the  wind  shook  a  leaf  and  fright- 
ened him.     B".t  as  soon  as  he  knelt  down  and  asked 
God,  He  saved  him  right  there.    There  are  some  of 
you  men  and  women  like  that.    Do  not  misunderstand 
me.    I  want  to  make  it  as  clear  as  day.    It  is  not  neces- 
sary for  you  to  do  anything  except  to  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  if  you  say  I  won't  do  a  thing, 
you  will  never  be  saved  until  you  do.    You  have  got 
to  lay  your  pride  in  the  dust  before  you  can  find  Jesua 
Christ.    I  remember  the  first  time  I  went  to  hold  a 
mission.     The  last  meeting  had  come,  and  the  last 
person  had  stood  up,  and  I  got  up  to  dismiss  the 
meeting,  when  a  lady  rose.    She  was  the  leading  so- 
ciety woman  in  the  town.    She  rose  slowly  to  her  feet 
and  said,  "Before  you  dismiss  this  meeting,  may  I 
say  something?"     And  then,  turning  round  to  face 
the  audience,  she  said,  ''When  Mr.  Torrey  came,  I 


m 


ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  UTTERANCES.  195 

said  he  would  never  get  me  to  stand  up,  but  I  now 
wish  to  most  humbly  take  it  all  back,  and  ask  you  to 
rray  for  me."    The  power  of  God  fell  on  that  meeUng. 
Some  of  you  men  and  women  think  your  position  in 
society  is  too  exalted  for  you  to  come  up  to  the  front 
with  common  folks  and  accept  the  Saviour  just  as 
ordinarj'  men  and  women  do,  but  if  you  think  that,  you 
will  never  be  saved  until  you  humble  your  pnde  in  the 
dust,  and  are  willing  to  go  anywhere  to  find  peace 
and  pardon.    Let  us  throw  away  everything  that  stands 
between  us  and  Jesus  Christ.    He  stands  in  this  Gild- 
ing to-night  with  outstretched  hands.     Oh,  see  Him! 
Hear  the  tender  tones  that  fall  from  His  lips,  the 
heart-breaking  tones:    «Ye  will  not  come  to  Me,  that 
ye  might  have  life."    The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  ^ed 
on  the  Cross  of  Calvary,  is  standing  here,  with  His 
thorn-crowned  brow  and  pierced  hands,  saymcr,     Ye 
will  not  come  to  Me  that  ye  might  have  life       Men 
and  women  rise  and  say,  «I  will  come,  Lora    esus; 
I  come  now." 


XIV 


''WHAT  ARE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?" 

"And  now  why  tarriest  thout  Arise  and  be  baptized,  wash- 
inglTay  thy  sil.  calling  on  the  name  of  th^I^'^"  .  ffPfX^J 
thl   first  part  of  the   verse,  "Why  tarriest  thou!  ).— Acts 

zxii.  16- 

It  was  God  who  asked  the  question,  through  His  servant 
Ananias,  of  Saul  of  Tarsus;  and  I  believe  that  God 
is  asking  that  same  question  to-night  through  me  of 
every  man  and  woman  and  child  in  this  building  that 
is  not  an  openly  confessed,  out-and-out  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ.    God  is  saying  to  you  to-night,  "Why  tamest 
thou?    What  are  you  waiting  for?    Why  do  you  not 
come  out  to-night  on  the  side  of  Jesus  Christ?"    You 
remember  that   Saul  of  Tarsus  hated  Jesus  Chnst. 
Saul  of  Tarsus  thought  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
an  impostor;   he  did  not  believe  that  He  was  the 
Christ   and  the   Son  of  God  as  He  claimed  to  be. 
But  away  down  in  the  depths  of  his  heart  Saul  of 
Tarsus  had  an  uneasy  feeling  that  perhaps  He  was 
the  Christ,  perhaps  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  but  he 
never  admitted  it  even  to  himself.     As  far  as  his 
admitted  convictions  were  concemed,  Saul  of  Tarsus 
thought  Jesus  was  an  impostor,  and  he  hated  Jesus  with 
a  very  intense  hatred;  and  he  said,  "I  am  going  to 
stamp  out  this  religion  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.      And 
he  not  only  hated  Jesus  Christ,  but  he  hated  everybody 
that  bore  the  name  of  Christ,  and  whenever  he  satir 

IM 


«*WHAT  ABE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"       197 

»  man  or  woman  or  child  that  believed  in  Jesus  and 
foUowed  Him,  he  hated  them.  He  did  everyinmg  in 
his  power  to  stamp  out  the  religion  of  Jesus.  He  went 
from  house  to  house  in  Jerusalem,  and  arrested  men 
and  women  and  children,  sparing  neither  age  nor  sex 
and  dragged  them  before  the  courts  to  be  tried,  and 
when  they  were  sentenced  to  death,  he  gave  his  vote 
lor  ^heir  execution.    But  at  last  Saul  of  Tarsus  had 

exhausted  all  the  <VVori^^^^^ ^^'r^'^^Z.T oi'Z 
salem,  but  he  had  not  exhausted  the  hatred  of  his 
heart      He  breathed  an  atmosphere  of  murder  and 
Sghter,  and  hearing  that  a  hundred  and  more  miles 
awaf  Tn  the  city  of  Damascus,  there  were  followers 
TL^  he  went,  with  a  heart  full  of  hatred,  to  the 
i^lvriel  and 'said,  "Give  me  letters  to  Damascus 
fnd  I  will  go  and  do  in  Damascus  wha   I  have  done 
in  Jerusalem.    I  will  arrest  all  the  Christians  whether 
InTr  w^en  or  children,  and  I  will  bring  them 
r^herlto  Jerusalem  to  be  punished."    His  request 

^t^^lCtrney  across  the  ^^^^^ 
dreary  desert,  whether  on  foot  or  on  ^orseba^.  b- 
dav  after  day  Saul  of  Tarsus  presses  on,  not  even  stay 
tl  for  the  burning  heat  of  the  noonday  sun.    At  last 
;?ht  aUst  reacLd  Damascus,  and  he^ands  -  the 
last  hilltop,  and  there  Damascus  lies  before  him    m 
a    its  beaut'y,  a  city  of  olive  groves,  a  "^  o   -epnU 
a  citv  of  gardens,  and  of  flashing  fountains,  a  city  of 
glittering  palaces  and  dashing  rivers   a  city  of  which 
U  W  to  sing,  and  of  which  -  P^^^^^^^^^ 
"Damascus  is  a  diamond  ma  setting  o 
But  as  Saul  looks  down  on  Damascus  m  all  its  far 


198  EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 

famed  beauty,  he  has  no  eye  for  its  beauty;  his  only 
thought  is  that  in  that  city  are  some  of  these  accursed 
Christians,  and  he  adds  to  himself  as  ^^e  «^d«  ^^^^^^ 
«I  will  soon  have  them  in  my  power,  and  be  dragging 
them  back  to  be  punished  at  Jerusalem.      He  starts 
0  press  on  towards  the  city,  to  do  the  helhsh  work  for 
whkh  he  has  come,  when  suddenly  there  shmes  round 
about  him  a  marvelous  light  with  a  ^nghtness  above 
that  of  the  noonday  sun,  and  there  m  the  midst  o 
it  he  beholds  the  most  wondrous  face  and  form  his 
eyes  had  ever  gazed  upon,  the  face  and  form  of  the 
glorified  Christ.     He  is  blinded  by  the  glory  of  it, 
and  falls  on  his  face  to  the  ground    He  hears  a  voice 
speaking  to  him,  "Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
Me?"  and  the  humbled  man  cries  back  from  the  ground, 
"Who  art  Thou,  Lord?"  and  back  comes  the  crushing 
and  overwhelming  answer,  «I  am  Jesus  whom  thou 
persecutest."     Then,  thoroughly  subdued  and   awed, 
he  cries  back,  ^^What  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do,  Lord?" 
And  the  answer  comes,  "Arise,  stand  upon  thy  feet, 
and  go  into  Damascus,  and  there  it  shall  be  told  you 
what  thou  must  do."    He  rises  to  his  feet,  but  every- 
thing is  black.    He  turns  his  eyes  hither  and  thither, 
hut  he  sees  nothing.    He  has  to  hold  out  his  hand  and 
be  led  like  a  helpless  child  into  the  city  he  expected 
to  enter  as  a  conqueror.     He  goes  to  the  house  of 
Judas,  and  there  for  three  days  and  three  nights  he 
shuts  himself  up  and  sees  no  one,  neither  eating,  sleep- 
ing, nor  drinking;  but  still  he  does  not  yield  himself 
to  Christ.    At  last,  God,  weary  of  waiting,  sends  His 
servant  Ananias  with  the  message,  **Why  do  you  not 


"WHAT  ARE  YOTJ  WAITING  FOR?"      199 

come  out  openly  and  confess  Him  whom  you  know  to 

be  the  Christ?" 

Men  and  women,  God  is  putting  the  same  question 
to  you:    "Why  tarriest  thou?    Why  do  you  not  come 
out  openly  and  accept  Christ,  and  confess  Him  before 
the  world  as  your  Saviour  and  Lord  and  Master?      1 
wish  it  were  possible  for  me  to  go  down  from  this 
platform,  and  to  go  from  seat  to  seat,  and  from  man 
to  man,  and  put  to  every  man  and  woman  out  of 
Christ  this  question:    What  are  you  waiting  for  be- 
fore you  come  out  on  the  side  of  Christ?    I  would 
have  you  tell  me  your  real  reason.    I  would  have  you 
give  me  an  honest  answer,  and  then  I  would  sit  down 
beside  you  with  the  Word  of  God,  and  show  you  how 
little  there  is  in  your  reason.    If  I  could  do  that  I 
believe  I  could  get  almost  every  man  and  woman  m 
this  building  that  is  out  of  Christ  to  accept  Him  to- 
night    But  there  is  no  time  of  course  for  that,  it  would 
take  davs  and  weeks  and  months,  so  I  am  going  to  ask 
you  to  do  the  next  best  thing.    I  am  going  to  ask  every 
man  and  woman  who  is  not  a  Christian  to  forget  about 
every  one  else,  and  not  to  look  at  me  as  preaching  a 
sennon  to  a  multitude,  but  to  think  of  you  and  me  as 
being  here  alone  in  personal  conversation  together  face 
to  face.    Will  you  put  to  yourself  this  question  before 
we  begin  our  conversation,  '^at  am  I  waiting  f  r 
Why  do  I  not  come  out  on  the  side  of  Christ  to-night? 
Now  we  are  going  to  have  a  few  moments  of  silence 
and  prayer,  and  I  am  going  to  ask  every  Christian 
man  and  woman  in  the  room  to  pray  that  every  one  may 
be  honest,  and  I  am  going  to  ask  all  of  you  who  are  not 


200 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Christians  to  put  this  question  to  yourselves,  "What  am 
I  waiting  for?"    Let  us  have  silence. 

Will  every  man  and  woman  put  to  themselves  the 
question,  "What  is  the  real  reason  that  I  do  not 
accept  and  confess  Christ  to-night;  what  am  I  wait- 
ing for?"    Now  I  will  take  up  your  answers  one  by  one. 

1.    Some  of  you  have  said  to-night,  "/  am  waiting 
until  I  shall  be  convinced;  just  as  soon  as  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God  and  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God,  I  will  accept  Christ  as  my  Saviour, 
and  confess  Him  before  the  worid."    Now,  I  want  to 
make  an  offer  to  every  man  and  woman  who  has  made 
that  answer.     If  you  will  come  to  me  at  the  close 
of  this  meeting,  I  will  show  you  the  way  to  find  out 
that,  beyond  all  peradventure,  the  Bible  is  God's  Word, 
and  Jesus  Christ  is  God's  Son.    Now,  if  you  are  an 
honest  skeptic,  you  will  accept  that  offer,  and  if  you 
do  not  accept  it,  never  say  again  that  you  are  a  skeptic. 
You  are  a  humbug.    Of  course,  if  you  are  only  a  trifler 
I  have  no  time  to  waste  upon  you,  but  if  you  are  a 
sincere  doubter,  I  would  rather  speak  with  you  than 
anybody  else  in  the  building,  for  I  have  yet  to  find  the 
first  sincere  doubter,  the  first  sincere  agnostic,  the  first 
sincere  atheist,  the  first  spiritualist,  the  first  Christian 
Scientist,  the  first  Theosophist,  who  really  wanted  to 
know  the  truth,  that  T  could  not  show  the  way  to  find 
it.     All  over  the  world  to-night  there  are  men  who 
used  to  be  agnostics  and  doubters  whom  it  has  been 
my  privilege  to  lead  to  Jesus.    If  you  are  an  honest 
skeptic,  you  will  accept  that  offer,  and  if  you  do  not, 
at  least  one  good  result  will  come  of  it— you  will  know 
when  you  go  out  of  this  hall  that  you  are  not  an  honest 


'*WHAT  ABE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"      201 

skeptic.    I  went  to  a  man  one  night  during  my  first 
pastorate;  he  was  standing  away  at  the  end  of  the 
hall  between  the  two  doors,  and  I  stepped  up  to  him 
and  said,  "Mr.  B.,"  (I  knew  him  very  well,  he  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  business  men  in  the  place  and 
one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed)  "why  are  you  not 
a  Christian?"    "Well,"  he  replied,  "I  don't  boast  about 
it   but  I  don't  believe  anything."    I  said,  "Don't  you 
believe  there  is  a  God?"    And  he  said,  "I  have  never 
given  up  faith  that  there  is  a  supreme  Being."   "Well," 
I  said,  "if  there  is  a  God,  you  ought  to  surrender  your 
will  to  Him.    Will  you  do  it?    Will  you  take  your  stand 
upon  the  will  of  God,  and  follow  it  wherever  it  carries 
you?"    He  replied,  "I  try  to  live  now  as  near  right 
as  I  know  how"  (I  believe  he  did,  for  he  was  one  of 
the  most  upright  men  in  the  community).     But  I 
paid,  "That  is  not  what  I  asked;  will  you  take  your 
stand  upon  the  will  of  God,  and  follow  it  wherever 
it  carries  you?"    He  said,  "I  have  never  put  it  in  quite 
that  way."    I  said,  "Will  you  put  it  that  way  to-night?" 
He  said,  'T  will."    Then  T  said,  "One  more  thing;  do 
you  believe  God  answers  prayer?"    "No,"  he  said,  "T 
"do  not."    He  said,  "T  have  often  lain  awake  at  night 
thinking  abo'  ■    and  I  have  come  to  the  conclu- 

sion that  Gog  V  .lot  answer  prayer."  ''Well,"  I  said, 
"I  know  He  does,  and  you  can  test  it  to-day.  Pray 
this  prayer:  'Oh,  God,  show  me  if  Jesus  Christ  is 
Thy  Son  or  not,  and  if  You  shrvv  me  that  He  is,  T 
pr(vmise  to  accept  Him  as  my  Saviour,  and  confess  Him 
before  the  world.' "  He  said,  "I  will."  That  same 
week  I  saw  that  gentleman  come  in  to  the  prayer 
meeting  at  the  church,  a  very  unusual  thing  for  him 


202 


BEVTVAL  ADDRESSES 


to  do,  and  as  soon  as  I  threw  open  the  prayer  meeting, 
I  saw  this  man  rise  to  his  feet.  He  said,  "Friends,  I 
doubted  everything;  I  was  in  a  perfect  mist;  I  did 
not  know  what  I  believed ;  I  did  not  know  as  I  believed 
anything."  Then  he  told  us  what  he  had  done.  He 
had  been  honest  with  himself  and  with  God  and  with 
truth,  and  he  had  done  what  he  had  promised  to  do. 
"And  now,"  he  said,  "my  mists  have  all  gone,  and  I  do 
not  know  where  they  have  gone."  You  say,  "I  doubt 
that  story."    Well,  try  it  for  yourselves. 

Another  man  ir  that  same  community  lived  across 
the  street  from  my  house,  and  I  went  to  see  him  one 
evening ;  the  sun  was  just  setting,  and  I  was  standing 
on  his  front  lawn,  talking  with  him,  for,  though  he  was 
an  «ignostic  and  I  was  a  Christian  minister,  we  were 
good  friends.  Christians  ought  not  to  get  off  some- 
where where  nobody  of  an  ordinary  kina  can  touch 
thorn.  The  Word  says,  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth." 
You  cannot  preserve  meat  by  putting  meat  in  one 
barrel  and  salt  in  another.  Well,  I  was  standing  on 
this  man's  lawn;  suddenly  he  turned  to  me — the  sun 
bad  gone  down  and  there  followed  a  peculiar  glow  in 
the  sky,  and  I  think  he  felt  a  strange  influence  from 
it — he  said  to  me  suddenly,  **Mr.  Torrey,  I  am  sixty- 
six  years  of  age,  and  I  have  no  one  to  leave  my  money 
to"  (and  he  had  a  good  amount  to  leave),  "I  cannot 
take  a  penny  of  it  with  me,  and  I  would  give  every 
penny  of  it,  if  T  could  believe  as  you  do.'*  I  said, 
"I  can  tell  yon  how."  He  said,  "I  wish  yon  would." 
I  said,  *'Let  us  go  in.'*  We  stepped  into  the  house  and 
I  asked  his  wife  for  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  I  wrote  on 
it  something  like  this ;    "I  believe  there  is  an  absolute 


Mi 


«WHAT  ABE  YOU  WAITING  FOll?"      203 

difference  between  right  and  wrong"-I  did  not  say 
n  believe  there  is  a  God;"  he  did  not  affirm  or  deny 
that,  and  I  began  just  where  he  was-"I  believe  there 
is  an  absolute  difference  between  right  and  wrong, 
and  I  hereby  take  my  'tand  on  the  right  to  follow  i 
wherever  it  carries  me.    I  promise  to  make  an  came, 
search  to  find  if  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God;  and 
if  1  find  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  T  pronnse 
to  accept  Him  as  my  Saviour  and  confess  Him  before 
the  world."    When  I  had  written  that,  I  said,    Mr.  H., 
read  that."    He  read  it.       Xow,"  I  said,  "will  you 
sign  that  r    "my,  anybody  ought  to  be  willing  to  s.pn 
that "  he  replied.     "Well,  will  you  sign  it?     I  said. 
«A\\  you  ask  me  to  sign  is  what  my  own  conscience 
tells  me  I  ought  to  do.    Anybody  ought  to  be  willing   o 
.\m  that.-     "Yes,"  I  said,  "but  will  you  sign  it? 
And  he  sai-l  again,  "Anybody  ought  to  be  willing  to 
^^that"    4ill  Tou  sign  it?"    "I  will  think  about 

'*ne  never  signed  it,  and  he  died  as  he  had  lived 
without  God  and  without  hope.     He  went  out  into 
the  darkness  of  a  Christless  eternity,  and  I  ask  jou 
'mose  fault  was  it?"     Away  out  in  the  darkness  a 
light  had  been  shown  to  him,  and  he  confessed  that 
Ws  own  conscience  told  him   that   he  ought   to  be 
willing  to  follow  it,  and  he  would  not  follow  it.    Will 
you  follow  it?    You  say  you  are  skeptics  and  agnos- 
tics; 80  I  used  to  be,  but  I  was  an  honest  man,  and 
when  a  way  was  pointed  out  I  tried  to  see  where  it 
led,  and  thank  God,  it  led  out  of  the  barrenness  and 
desolation  and  darkness  of  ^tterjiihil^^^!^*^  ,"  '^^ 
faith  that  cannot  be  shaken,  that  that  blessed  Book 


204 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


is  God's  Word,  and  that  the  Christ  of  that  Book  is  the 
Son  of  God. 

3.  Well,  some  one  else  may  say,  My  case  is  dif- 
ferent. I  believe  in  the  Bible  just  as  much  as  you  do, 
but  /  am  waiting  till  I  have  enjoyed  the  world  enough." 
There  are  a  great  many  people  of  that  kind  in  London. 
Some  of  them  have  grown  old  and  grey  in  that  condi- 
tion. They  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  when 
they  grow  tired  of  the  world,  they  can  turn  to  Christ 
without  any  sacrifice;  they  think  that  after  a  while 
a  man  will  grow  tired  of  the  worid  and  give  it  up 
without  an  effort.  What  a  great  mistake !  The  longer 
you  live  for  the  world  the  less  enjoyment  you  get  out 
of  it,  but  the  tighter  its  grip  becomes  upon  your  shrivel- 
ling soul.  There  will  never  be  another  night  when 
it  is  so  easy  to  give  up  the  world  as  it  is  to-night.  You 
know  that  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  drinking  man. 
When  a  man  begins  to  drink,  there  is  pleasure  in  it; 
the  first  glass  of  beer  or  of  wine  or  of  champagne 
has  joy  in  it,  and  exhilaration  in  it — a  man  feels  like 
two  men ;  but  as  a  man  goes  on  drinking  there  is  less 
and  less  joy,  but  the  more  complete  his  slavery  be- 
comes, until  at  last  a  man  reaches  a  place,  which  thou- 
sands of  men  and  women  in  London  have  already 
reached,  where  they  hate  alcohol  as  much  as  any  pro- 
hibitionist, but  are  utterly  unable  to  give  it  up.  They 
know  it  is  robbing  them  of  their  brains,  they  know 
it  is  robbing  them  of  their  manhood,  of  the  respect 
of  the  community,  of  the  affection  of  their  wives,  and 
the  confidence  of  their  children.  They  know  it  is 
taking  the  bread  out  of  their  children's  mouths,  and 
the  clothes  from  their  wives'  backs;  yet,  hating  it  as 


"WHAT  AEE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"      205 

they  do,  they  will  take  up  their  glass  filled  with  liquid 
damnation,  and  drink  it  to  the  dregs.  You  say,  "That 
is  true."  It  is  just  as  true  of  the  love  of  money.  The 
slavery  of  money  is  as  complete  and  as  degrading  as 
the  slavery  of  strong  drink.  I  would  rather  under- 
take to  save  ten  drunkards  than  one  money  fiend,  any 
day.  When  a  man  begins,  there  is  pleasure  in  it;  the 
first  ten  pounds,  or  the  first  hundred  pounds,  or  per- 
haps the  first  thousand  pounds  that  he  lays  by  gives  him 
joy;  but  as  a  man  goes  on  accumulating,  there  is  less 
and  less  pleasure,  and  at  last  there  is  no  pleasure  at 
all,  but  the  man  is  the  slave  of  the  degrading  lust 
for  gold.  I  was  visiting  a  man  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
when  I  was  living  in  Minneapolis,  in  the  Boom  days, 
when  men  were  making  fortunes  in  a  day.  The  man  to 
whom  I  refer  had  a  comfortable  fortune  of  about  £100,- 
000,  and  was  now  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age. 
One  foot  was  in  the  grave,  and  the  other  foot  almost 
over  the  edge.  Only  a  few  weeks  before  I  came  to  see 
him,  they  had  to  send  post-haste  for  the  doctor  to  coone 
and  pull  the  man's  other  foot  away  from  the  edge  of 
the  grave.  After  everybody  else  had  gone  to  bed,  he 
said  to  me  in  a  low  tone  of  voice — ^what  do  you  think? 
"Oh,"  you  say,  "something  about  Heaven,  something 
about  eternity;  a  man  with  one  foot  in  the  grave  and 
the  other  almost  over  would  wish  to  talk  about  the 
future  and  what  it  meant  for  him."  But  no,  he  loaned 
over  and  said :  "Do  you  know  any  place  up  in  Minne- 
apolis where  I  could  invest  my  money  where  it  would 
bring  big  interest?"  Oh.  some  of  you  men  are  going 
very  fast  that  same  road,  selling  your  souls  for  damning 
gold.    It  is  just  the  same  way  with  the  love  fur  pleas- 


[v 


206 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


ure.  The  first  dance,  the  first  card  pany,  the  first 
theatre,  oh,  the  excitement  of  it  and  the  pleasure  of  it 
and  the  exhilaration  of  it;  but  as  one  goes  on  the 
pleasure  of  these  things  becomes  less  and  less,  and 
more  and  more  complete  does  the  slavery  to  them  be- 
come. The  time  will  never  come  when  you  have  en- 
joyed the  world  enough.  Furthermore,  there  is  more 
joy  in  Jesus  Christ  in  twenty-four  hours  than  th<  re  is 
in  the  world  in  365  days.    I  have  tried  them  both. 

Further,  suppose  while  3'ou  are  waiting  until  you 
have  enjoyed  the  world  enough  you  are  called  out  of 
the  world.  ''What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul?"  One  night  I 
went  down  the  aisle  almost  to  the  far  end  of  it,  and 
the  people  were  standing  up  singing,  and  I  turned  to 
a  young  lady  and  I  said  to  her,  "Why  don't  you  be- 
come a  Christian?"  "Oh,"  she  said,  "I  enjoy  the 
world  too  much."  I  simply  quoted  God's  word  to  her, 
"What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul?"  and  passed  on.  The  meetings 
went  on,  and  the  last  night  came.  The  last  meeting 
had  finished,  and,  after  I  had  returned  to  the  nouse 
where  I  was  staying,  my  hostess  came  to  me  and  said, 
"Two  young  ladies  want  to  see  you;  they  are  waiting 
in  the  other  room."  I  went  in,  and  one  of  them  was 
tlie  young  lady  of  whom  T  am  speaking.  I  said  to  her 
"Why  do  you  want  to  see  me?"  "Oh,"  she  so':,  *'I 
do  not  enjoy  the  world  any  more ;  since  you  spoke  to  me 
your  words  have  been  ringing  in  my  ears :  'What  shall 
it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose 
his  own  soul?'  And  I  have  come  to-night,  and  have 
brought  my  friend  with  me,  so  that  you  may  tell  us 


"WHAT  ARE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"      307 

what  to  do  to  be  saved."  Oh,  that  those  words  would 
ring  in  the  ears  of  some  of  you  men  and  women  until 
you  cannot  rest,  until  you  come  to  the  Son  of  God  for 
rest  and  joy,  which  is  rest  and  joy  indeed. 

3.  "I  am  waiting  for  my  friend,"  says  another. 
That  is  true  of  a  great  many  persons.  Young  men 
are  waiting  for  their  friends,  and  young  ladies  are 
waiting  for  their  lady  friends,  women  are  waiting  for 
their  husbands,  lovers  are  waiting  for  their  sweet- 
hearts— one  is  waiting  for  another.  What  I  say  to  you 
is,  You  come  to  Christ  firtt,  and  bring  your  friends 
along.  If  your  friends  love  you  as  much  as  you  love 
them,  when  you  come  to  Christ  they  will  come  too.  It 
is  better  that  you  should  take  them  to  Heaven  with 
you  than  that  they  should  take  you  to  hell  with  them. 

I  was  ttaying  at  one  time  with  a  minister,  and  he 
told  me  this  story.  He  said:  "After  my  wife  and  I 
had  been  married  for  fourteen  and  a  half  years  she 
turned  to  me  one  night  and  said,  'Husband,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  be  a  Christian  and  to  unite  with 
the  Church.' "  He  said,  "I  was  very  angry ;  I  was  the 
principal  of  the  schools  in  that  town  and  held  a  prom- 
inent position,  and  I  said  to  her,  *Why,  you  must  not 
do  it ;  you  and  I  have  lived  very  happily  together  for 
fourteen  and  a  half  years,  but  if  you  become  a  Christian, 
I  have  no  intention  of  becoming  one,  and  that  will 
just  separate  us  for  ever.'  But  she  said  to  me,  'I  must 
he  a  Christian.  I  love  you,  and  would  ^^  almost  any- 
thing to  please  you,  but  I  feel  I  must  first  please  God.* 
'Well,'  I  said,  'you  become  a  Cliristian,  if  you  feel  that 
YOU  want  to.  but  you  must  not  unite  with  the  Church.' 
"She  regarded  my  wishes  in  this  respect,  and  so  we  went 


208 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


on  for  six  months,  she  a  Christian,  and  I  not.  Then 
she  said  to  me,  'Husband,  I  must  become  j.  member  of 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.'"  (Of  course,  if  a  per- 
son is  converted  they  will  never  be  happy  out  of  the 
Church.)  "Then,"  her  husband  said,  "I  was  very  angry, 
and  said  to  her,  'If  you  do  join  the  Church,  I  want 
you  to  understand  that  you  are  nothing  more  to  me. 
We  have  lived  happily  together  now  for  fifteen  years, 
but  if  you  unite  yourself  with  the  Church  from  this 
time  on  you  go  your  way,  and  I  shall  go  mine,  and 
you  will  be  nothing  more  to  me.'  She  said,  'Husband, 
I  love  you,  and  I  would  do  all  I  could  to  please  you, 
but  I  must  first  of  aU  please  God,  and  I  have  made 
up  my  mind  to  unite  with  the  Church  to-morrow.*  She 
went  to  her  room,  and  I  went  to  mine.  I  was  very 
angry  with  her.  I  was  getting  angrier  all  the  time.  I 
could  not  sleep.  I  heard  eleven  o'clock  strike,  and  I  was 
very  angry;  I  heard  twelve  o'clock  strike,  and  I  was 
more  angry  still;  I  heard  one  o'clock,  and  I  was  angrier 
still;  but  when  two  o'clock  came,  I  called  out  to  my 
wife!  'Wife,  I  am  converted.' "  The  husband  and  wife 
went  iutc  the  Church  together.  He  became  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  and  to-day  he  is  in  Heaven.  If  that 
wife  had  waited  for  him,  they  would  have  gone  down  to 
a  Christless  grave  and  a  Christless  eternity  together. 
Oh,  men  and  women,  come  to  Christ  and  bring  your 
friends  with  you.  Even  if  they  do  not  cotoe,  you 
come  to  Christ.  I  would  start  for  Heaven  to-night, 
even  if  I  had  to  start  alone.  I  would  rather  go  to 
Heaven  alone  than  go  to  hell  in  company.  I  believe 
that  one  of  the  darkest  experiences  of  that  dark  world 


"WHAT  ARE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"       209 

will  be  when  a  husband  that  goes  there  is  met  by  the 
wife  whom  he  dragged  there. 

In  one  of  my  pastorates  a  solemn  thing  occnrred; 
before  I  had  gone  there,  in  the  neighbouring  to\ni- 
ship  there  had  been  a  great   awakening,  and  many 
people  had  come  out  on  the  side  of  Christ,  and  one 
night,  when  the  preacher  extended  an  invitation  for  all 
those  who  would  accept  Christ  to  come  to  the  front,  a 
lady  rose  from  her  place  to  do  so.    But  her  husband, 
sitting  back  of  her,  laid  his  hand  on  her  shouldor, 
and  forced  her  back  into  her  scat.     She  yielded  to 
him,  and  she  drifted  away  from  her  conviction  into 
t;kcpticism  and  blank  infidelity.    That  is  the  way  peo- 
ple become  infidels,  by  resisting  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Show  me  a  hundred  infidels,  and  I  will  show  you  in 
ninety-nine  cases  men  who  were  under  conviction  of 
sin  at  some  titne  or  other,  but  who  have  resisted  the 
Spirit  of  God.     This  lady  became  an  utter  atheist. 
Some  time  afterwards  there  was  a  revival  in  the  town. 
]  t  caused  the  infidels  of  the  town  to  be  greatly  stirred 
np.    When  we  get  a  revival,  it  stirs  up  the  infidels  won- 
derfully.    They  said,  "This  cannot  go  on.     We  will 
send  off  and  get  one  of  our  infidel  lecturers ;"  and  they 
got  +l;eir  lecturer,  a  follower  of  Ingcrsoll.    Thank  God, 
they  aid  have  that  lecturer.    People  went  to  hear  him ; 
and  when  they  had  heard  him.  they  said.  "If  that  is 
infidelity,  we  do  not  want  any  of  it."  While  waiting  for 
this  professor,  this  lady  said,  "I  can  hardly  wait  for 

Professor to  get  here."    She  did  not  wait.  There 

was  a  little  card  party  being  held  on  the  Saturday 
night,  and  this  lady  and  her  friends  were  among  the 
party.     Eleven  o'clock  on  Saturday  night  came,  and 


210 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


they  were  still  playing  cards;  at  twelve  o'clock  they 
were  still  playing ;  and  at  one  o'clock  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing— on  the  Lord's  Day — they  wore  still  playing  cards. 
Sabbath-breaking  and  card-playing  go  hand  in  hand, 
you  know.  About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  this 
woman  sprang  to  her  feet,  clapped  her  hand  on  her 
head,  and  cried,  "Oh!"  and  dropped  dead  beside  the 
table.  I  shall  never  forget  my  meeting  with  her  hus- 
band after  that  awful  day.  I  had  never  spoken  to  him 
before ;  but  I  happened  to  walk  into  the  post-office,  and 
this  man  came  in  at  the  same  time,  and  he  came 
across  the  post-office  and  he'd  out  his  hand,  and,  with  a 
grip  of  despair,  ho  took  my  hand  in  his.  He  knew  he 
had  sent  his  wife  into  a  Christless  ctcrnit)'.  Oh,  don't 
wait  for  others;  come  yourself,  and  bring  the  others 
with  you. 

4.  "Well,"  some  one  else  says,  "that  is  not  what  I 
am  waiting  for;  /  am  waiting  for  feeling."  I  believe 
that  is  true  of  a  great  many.  There  is  many  an  earnest 
soul  that  would  really  like  to  be  a  Christian,  but  they 
think  thoy  have  not  got  the  right  kind  of  feeling.  Some 
are  waiting  for  the  joy  and  peace  that  Christians  talk 
about.  I  went  to  a  young  lady  once  in  a  meeting  like 
this,  and  said  to  hor,  "Why  arc  you  not  a  Christian?" 
She  replied,  "I  have  not  the  right  kind  of  feeling. 
These  people  have  been  talking  about  the  joy  and  peace 
that  they  have ;  I  have  not  any  joy  like  that,  and  I  can- 
not come  to  Christ  until  I  get  it."  I  said,  "But  that  is 
the  result  of  coming.  You  don't  expect  the  result,  do 
you,  before  you  take  the  step?"  Suppose  I  should  go 
and  see  a  very  sick  man,  and  I  said  to  liim,  ^'What  is 
the  matter  with  you  ?"  and  he  said,  "Influenza."  Then  I 


"WHAT  ARE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"       211 

might  say,  "I  had  the  influenza  some  time  ago,  and  I 
took  such  and  such  a  remedy,  and  it  cured  me  com- 
pletely."   Then  he  would  say,  "What  is  that  remedy?' 
Then,  when  I  tell  him  what  it  is,  he  calls  for  his  man, 
and  tells  him  to  run  down  to  the  chemist's  at  once 
and  buy  it ;  and  when  he  brings  the  bottle  back,  the 
sick  man  hands  it  to  me  and  says,  "Is  that  it?"  and 
I  say,  "Yes,  that  is  the  medicine."    And  he  says  to  me, 
"Y'ou  say  you  took  it,  and  it  made  you  better  riglit  off?" 
and  I  say,  "Yes."    Then  he  says,  "Thank  you  for  telling 
me  of  it;  I  am  so  much  obliged."    Then  a  few  days 
afterwards  I  go  to  see  that  man,  and  expect  to  find  him 
up  and  well ;  but  instead  of  that,  I  find  him  still  in  bed 
and  sicker  than  ever.    I  say  to  him,  "I  don't  understand 
this.    Are  you  not  any  better?"    "No,"  he  says,  "I  am 
worse."    "Why,  how  is  that?"  I  ask;  "did  you  not  get 
that  medicine  which  cured  me?"    "Yes,  of  course  I  got 
it "  he  says ;  "were  you  not  in  the  room  when  my  man 
brought  it  to  me  from  the  chemist's?"    "Well,  did  you 
take  It  ?"  I  ask.    "Oh,  no,  I  didn't  take  it,"  he  says ;  "you 
said  it  made  you  a  great  deal  better  right  off.    But  I 
did  not  feel  any  better,  so  I  did  not  take  it!"     You 
would  say,  "What  a  foolish  man."     Is  he  any  more 
foolish  than  you?  You  cannot  expect  to  have  the  result 
of  accepting  Christ  until  you  take  the  step ;  take  Christ 
and  confess  Him,  and  you  will  get  all  the  joy  you  need. 
A  woman  once  came  to  me  in  one  of  our  missions  and 
said,  "I  want  to  be  a  Christian."     I  said,  "Become 
one  now."     She  said,  "How?"    I  said,  "It  is  just  as 
simple  as  it  is  to  walk  home."    "Oh,  but,"  she  .aid,  "I 
don't  feel  any  better."     I  said,  "Of  course  you  don  t. 
You  haven't  done  the  thing  to  make  you  feel  better. 


I\ 


212 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES. 


"But  all  the  other  folks  talk  about  their  joy,"  she  said. 
I  said,  'Tes,  because  they  have  taken  the  step  that  leads 
to  joy.  Don't  you  know  you  are  a  sinner,  and  that 
Christ  died  for  your  sins,  and  that  He  is  your  rightful 
Lord  and  Master?"  She  said,  "Yes,  I  know  that." 
"Well,"  I  said,  "will  you  take  Him  for  your  Saviour, 
and  yield  to  Him  as  your  Lord  and  Master  now?"  She 
said,  "I  will."  "Then  let  us  get  down  and  pray,"  I 
said.  When  we  had  prayed,  I  said,  "Now  it  is  too  late 
to  confess  Christ  publicly  in  the  meeting,  for  the  people 
have  nearly  all  gone,  but  you  confess  Christ  the  first 
chance  you  get."  "But  I  don't  feel  any  better,"  she 
said.  "I  did  not  suppose  you  would,"  I  said ;  "you  have 
not  gone  far  enough  yet.  You  must  confess  Christ  be- 
fore the  world,  and  then  the  joy  and  peace  will  come  to 
you."  The  next  day,  when  I  went  to  the  town  hall, 
before  I  went  on  to  the  platform  to  address  the  busi- 
ness men's  meeting,  T  received  a  note  from  this  lady, 
which  said:  "Oh,  Dr.  Torrey,  I  feel  so  grateful  to  you; 
T  am  so  happy.  Fifteen  minutes  after  leaving  the  hall 
last  night  I  had  all  the  joy  I  could  contain.  When  I 
got  outside  I  met  my  brother,  and  went  home  with  him ; 
and  on  the  way  I  told  him  that  I  had  given  myself  to 
Christ ;  and  as  I  told  him,  the  joy  came  into  my  heart, 
and  has  been  Ihere  ever  since." 

Other  people  are  loaiting  for  conviction  of  sin.  They 
feel  that  they  cannot  come  to  Christ,  because  they  have 
not  shed  tears,  and  are  not  overwhelmed  with  the  bur- 
den of  sin.  I  like  to  see  conviction  of  sin,  but  there  is 
no  passage  in  the  whole  Bible  that  says  you  have  got  to 
feel  sorry  before  you  are  saved.  In  Isaiah  Iv.  7  we  read, 
"Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way"  (not  be  sorry  about  it) 


m 


_ 


"WHAT  ABE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"      213 


"and  the  unrighieoua  man  hia  thoughts,  and  let  him  r&. 
turn  unto  the  Lord,  and  He  will  have  mercy  upon  him; 
and  to  our  God,  for  He  will  abundantly  pardon."  It 
doesn't  say  "feel  sorry  for  your  sin;"  it  says,  "quit  your 
sin  and  turn  to  God."  I  have  seen  people  very  sorry 
over  their  sins ;  they  just  weep  and  weep,  and  then  go 
right  out  and  do  the  same  thing  again  for  which  they 
have  professed  to  be  sorry.  I  have  known  people  just 
as  stolid  as  a  man  could  be,  but  they  turned  from  their 
sin  and  took  Christ  in  cold  blood,  as  it  were,  and  God 
kept  His  word  and  saved  them.  And  He  will  keep  His 
promise  to-night. 

On  one  occasion  in  Chicago  I  went  to  preach  for  a 
Baptist  minister.    In  the  second  meeting  I  sat  down  by 
a  man  and  his  wife,  aged  about  forty  years,  and  I  said 
to  him,  "Why  are  you  not  a  Christian?"    He  said,  "I 
would  like  to  be ;  I  hope  to  be  a  Christian  some  day. 
My  father  was  a  Baptist  minister,  and  my  mother  is  one 
of  the  best  women  that  ever  lived  on  earth."    "Well,"  I 
said,  "come  right  now."    He  said,  "I  want  to."    I  said, 
"Then  why  don't  you?"    He  said,  "I  have  not  got  the 
right  kind  of  feeling."    I  said,  "What  do  you  think 
is  the  right  kind  of  feeling?"    He  said,  "I  don't  feel 
sorry  for  my  sins.    Don't  you  think  a  man  ought  to 
have  conviction  of  sin?"    I  said,  "I  think  you  ought, 
but  I  do  not  read  in  my  Bible  anything  that  says  a 
man  has  to  feel  sorry  to  be  saved.    My  Bible  says,  'Turn 
from  sin  and  take  Christ';  my  Bible  says,  'Receive 
Christ.'    'As  many  as  received  Him'— not  to  as  many 
as  wept  over  their  sin— 'as  many  as  received  Him  to 
them  gave  He  power  to  become  sons  of  God.'    Don't 
you  know  you  are  a  sinner?"  I  said.    "I  know  I  am  a 
sinner,"  he  said,  "but  I  don't  feel  it."    I  said,  "Don't 


214 


REVIVAL"  ADDRESSES. 


you  know  that  Jesus  Christ  is  your  Saviour?"  ^Tcs," 
he  said.  "Don't  you  know  it  would  be  the  best  thing 
vou  could  do  to  take  Him  as  your  Saviour?"  "Yes,  1 
do."  Then  I  said,  "Take  Him  as  your  Saviour  now. 
He  said,  "Without  feeling  sorry?"  I  said,  "Never  mind 
the  feeling.  Will  you  take  Him?"  He  said,  "I  have 
not  anv  feeling."    I  said,  "See  here,  what  business  are 


you  in 


■?"    He  said,  "I  am  in  the  real  istnte  business." 

iTaid,  "Suppose  that  I  should  come  down  to  your  office 
to-morrow  morning  and  offer  to  sell  you  a  corner  lot 
for  five  thousand  dollars,  and  you  knew  it  was  a  lot  that 
you  could  sell  in  twenty-four  hours  for  ten  thousand 
dollars,  but,  for  some  reason  or  other,  you  didn't  feel 
like  buying  it— Would  you  buy  it?"  He  said,  "I  would 
buy  it  quick,  feeling  or  no  feeling."    "My  friend,"  I 
said,  "show  the  same  commonsense  in  religion  that 
you' do  in  business.    Don't  you  know  it  would  be  the 
best  paying  investment  you  could  make  to  take  Jesus 
Christ  as  your  Saviour?"    He  said,  "Yes,  I  do."    "\Vill 
you  do  it,  then,  feeling  or  no  feeling?"    He  said,  "Is 
that  all  ?"    I  said,  "That  is  all  to  start  with."    "Then," 
he  said,  "I  will  do  it."    I  said,  "Will  you  kneel  down 
and  seal  the  bargain  right  now?"  and  we  knelt,  and  m 
and  his  wife  took  Christ.    I  went  back  to  that  church 
in  a  few  months,  and  that  man  had  come  along  so  finely 
that  they  had  made  him  a  trustee  of  the  church. 

Men  and  women,  Christ  is  a  Saviour.  God  offers  Him 
to  you;  you  take  Him  and  it  is  done.  Feeling  or  no 
feeling,  will  you  take  Him  to-night? 

No  one  has  a  good  reason  for  not  coming  to  Christ. 
There  are  a  thousand  reasons  why  you  ought  to  come. 
Every  year  that  you  have  lived  has  brought  you  one 
year  nearer  to  eternity,  and  is  a  reason  for  coming  to 


♦'WHAT  ARE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"      215 

Christ  to-night;  every  year  that   you  have  still  to  live 
and  that  might  be  a  year  of  service  is  a  reason  for 
coming  to  Christ  to-night.    Every  saved  friend  you  have 
is  a  reason  for  coming  to  Christ  to-night,  that  you  may 
spend  eternity  with  him  in  Heaven.     Every  unsaved 
friend     that     you     have     is     a     reason     why    you 
,hnnld    come    to    Christ  to-night,    that    you    may 
bring    him    with    you.     Every    thorn    in    the    Sa- 
viour's  crown,  every  nail  in  the  Saviour's  hands  and 
feet,  every  stroke  laid  upon  the  Saviour's  back,  when 
He  was  wounded  for  your  transgressions  and  bruised 
for  your  iniqu-ties,  and  the  chastisement  of  your  peace 
was  laid  upon  Him,  is  a  reason  for  accepting  Christ  to- 
night.   Will  you  do  it?    Oh,  there  is  an  awful  risk  in 

delay. 

A  quaint  old  preacher  of  the  olden  days  in  our  coun- 
try, the  Rev.  Dan  Baker,  puts  it  in  the  way  of  a  story. 
He  tells  of  a  man  who  was  crossing  the  ocean.    He  was 
leaning  over  the  side  of  the  vessel ;  it  was  a  bright  sunny 
day,  and  not  a  wave  broke  the  surface  of  the  water,  just 
a  ii'ttle  ripple  here  and  there  kissed  by  the  rays  of  the 
Bun     And  the  man,  as  he  leaned  over  the  rail  of  the 
vessel,  was  tossing  something  in  the  air,  something 
which,  when  it  fell  through  the  sunlight,  sparkled  with 
singular  radiance  and  glory;  and  he  watched  it  so 
eagerly  as  he  tossed  it  up  and  caught  it  as  it  fell.    He 
tossed  it  up  again  and  again  and  again,  and  it  threw  out 
its  marvellous  light  as  it  fell.  At  last  an  onlooker  came 
and  said  "May  I  ask  what  that  is  that  you  are  tossing 
up  so  carelessly?"  He  replied,  "Certainly;  look  at  it,  it 
is  a  diamond."  "Is  it  of  much  value?"  asked  the  onlook- 
er  "Yes  of  very  great  value.  See  the  colour  of  it,  see  the 
size  of  it.    In  fact,  all  I  have  in  the  world  is  in  that 


fie 


REVIVAL  ADDBESSES. 


diamond.  I  am  going  to  a  new  country  to  seek  my 
fortune,  and  I  have  sold  everything  I  have,  and  have 
put  it  into  that  diamond,  so  as  to  get  it  into  a  portable 
ehape."  "Then  if  it  is  so  valuable,  is  it  not  an  awful 
risk  you  are  running  in  tossing  it  up  so  carelessly?" 
was  the  next  question.  "No  risk  at  all.  I  have  been  do- 
ing this  for  the  last  half-hour,"  said  the  man.  "But 
there  might  come  a  Inst  time,"  sa'd  the  onlooker;  but 
the  man  laughed  and  threw  it  up  again,  and  caught  it 
as  it  fell,  and  again  and  again,  and  once  more,  and  it 
flashed  and  blazed,  and  looked  like  a  burning  coal  in 
the  sunlight,  and  he  watches  it  so  eagerly  as  it  falls 
the  last  time.  Ah,  but  this  time  it  is  too  far  out.  He 
reaches  as  far  as  he  can  over  the  rail  of  the  vessel,  but 
he  cannot  reach  far  enough.  There  is  a  little  plash  in 
the  ocean.  For  a  moment  he  stands  aghast,  and  then 
he  cries,  "Lost !  lost  I  lost !    All  I  have  in  the  worid, 

lost!" 

You  say,  "No  man  would  be  so  great  a  fool  as  that; 
th£.t  story  is  not  true."  That  story  is  true,  and  the 
man  is  here  to-night.  Thou  art  the  man !  That  ocean 
is  eternity ;  that  vessel  you  are  on  is  life ;  that  diamond 
is  your  soul,  of  priceless  value,  that  soul  that  'Christ 
put  great  enough  value  upon  to  die  for  it,  to  save  it.  And 
you  have  been  trifling  with  it !  I  come  to  you  to-night 
and  say,  "My  friend,  what  is  that  in  your  hand  which 
you  are  playing  with  so  carelessly?"  You  say,  "It  is 
my  soul."  "Is  it  worth  much  ?"  "More  than  the  whole 
round  earth,  *for  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain 
the  whole  worid  and  lose  his  own  soul?'"  "But  don't 
von  think  you  are  taking  an  awful  risk?"  "Oh,  no,"  you 
say,  "I  have  been  doing  this  for  the  last  five  years,  for 
the  last  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years."    "Yes,  but  you 


"WHAT  ARE  YOU  WAITING  FOR?"      217 

might  do  it  once  too  often."  "Oh,  no,"  you  say,  and 
to-night  once  more  you  throw  it  up.  But  you  may  throw 
it  up  once  too  often ;  it  will  fall  too  far  out,  beyond  your 
reach;  there  will  be  a  plash,  and  you  will  try  to  look 
after  it;  not  in  the  impenetrable  depths  of  the  blue 
ocean,  but  in  the  unfathomable  depths  of  the  bottomless 
pit  it  sinks  and  sinks  and  sinks,  and  you  cry,  "Lost  I 
lost !  lost !  my  soul  is  lost !"  That  may  be  your  cry  some 
dny.  Cor>e  to-night,  before  it  is  too  late,  and  put  your 
Boul  where  it  vill  be  everlastingly  safe,  in  the  keeping 
of  the  Son  of  God. 


IV 


XV 


EXCUSES 

"And  they  all  with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuses."— 
Luke  xiv,  18. 

In  these  words  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  sets  forth  the 
manner  in  which  God's  invitation  of  love  and  grace  and 
mercy  would  be  received,  and  that  is  precisely  the  way 
in  which  God's  invitation  of  mercy  is  being  received 
by  the  people  of  London  to-night.  When  you  come  to 
men  and  extend  to  them  God's  wonderful  invitation 
of  grace  to  His  royal  banquet,  one  and  al-,  instead  of 
accepting  it  with  glad  alacrity,  begin  to  make  excuses 
for  not  coming.  In  the  parable  from  which  the  text 
is  taken  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  represents  that  the  Gos- 
pel invitation  is  an  invitation  to  a  banquet.  So  it  is. 
Never  was  there  such  a  glorious  banquet  spread  on 
earth  as  this  which  God  spreads  for  you  and  me  in  the 
Gospel  of  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ.  God's  table  is  just 
groaning  with  good  things.  Now,  when  men  are  invited 
to  a  royal  banquet  they  begin  to  cast  about  for  some 
way  to  get  to  it.  But  when  the  great  King  of  Kings 
ppreads  His  table  and  invites  His  guest?,  so  great  is 
the  blindness  and  madness  of  the  human  heart  that 
men  try  to  find  some  excuse  for  not  going.  If  at  the  cor- 
onation, a  few  months  ago.  King  Edward  had  given  a 
great  banquet  in  this  city,  and  sent  out  invitations  to 
his  guests,  every  person  who  was  honoured  by  an  invi- 

au 


■■■ii 


EXCUSES 


219 


tation  would  have  moved  Heaven  and  eaith  to  get  to 
that  banquet,  because  they  were  so  honoured  that  the 
king  had  sent  them  an  invitation.    But  when  the  great 
King,  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  sends  out  His  invita- 
tion by  His  Gospel  messengers  to  His  royal  banquet,  in 
the  desperate  wickedness  of  the  human  heart,  and  in 
your  stubborn  rebellion  against  the  Lord  who  loves  you 
and  gave  His  Son  to  die  for  you,  instead  of  trying  to 
come  to  the  banquet,  you  try  to  find  some  excuse  for 
not  coming.     Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  parable, 
gives  us  three  illustrative  excuses,  and  each  one  of 
these  excuses  is  perfectly  absurd;  and  that  is  the  point 
of  it     Our  Lord  Jesus  wants  us  to  see  how  utterly  irra- 
tional and  absurd  arc  all  the  excuses  that  men  make 
for  not  coming  to  Christ.  ^ 

The  first  excuse  was  this:    «I  have  bought  a  piece  of 
ground,  and  I  must  needs  go  and  see  it."    How  utterly 
absurd'    It  sounds  rational  at  the  first  hearing,  and 
looks  rational  at  the  first  glance,  but  when  you  look  at 
it  how  absurd  it  is.    If  the  man  had  already  bought  the 
ground,  where  was  the  need  of  hurry  in  going  to  see  it? 
He  could  have  waited  until  the  banquet  was  over.    Fur- 
thermore, who  ever  heard  of  going  out  at  supper-time, 
after  dark,  to  see  land.    He  was  just  making  up  an  ex- 
ruse,  and  his  excuse,  like  most  of  yours,  was  a  lie.    If 
the  man  had  been  a  real  sensible  business  man  he  would 
have  gone  and  seen  the  ground  before  he  bought  it. 
The  idea  of  a  man  buying  a  piece  of  ground  and  then 
going  to  see  it !    I  know  of  a  man  in  Amenca  who  did 
that  once.    It  was  up  in  Minneapolis.    The  man  bought 
some  real  estate  in  that  city,  and  instead  of  going  to  see 
it  first,  or  sending  some  one  to  see  it,  he  had  bought  it, 
and  months  after  he  thought  he  would  go  and  see  it. 


220 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


He  went  up  there  and  found  his  land  was  at  the  bottom 
of  Lake  Harriet.    Very  good  soil,  but  too  wet  I 

The  second  excuse  was  equally  absurd.  The  man 
said:  "I  have  bought  five  yolk  of  oxen  and  I  go  to 
prove  them."  How  absurd!  There  is  no  hurry;  the 
oxen  were  already  purchased ;  he  might  go  to  the  ban- 
quet first  and  try  the  oxen  afterwards,  and  if  he  had 
been  a  real  sensible  business  man  he  would  have  tried 
the  oxen  first,  and  bought  them  afterwards.  Anyway, 
day-time  is  far  better  than  night-time  to  try  oxen. 

The  third  man's  excuse  was  the  most  absurd  of  all. 
He  said,  "I  have  married  a  wife,  and  therefore  I  cannot 
come."  I  wouia  like  to  know  why  not?  If  it  had  been 
a  funeral  there  would  have  been  some  sense  in  his  ex- 
cuse, but  it  was  a  feast.  Who  ever  saw  a  bride  that  was 
not  willing  to  go  to  a  feast?  Why  did  he  not  bring  her 
with  him  ?    There  was  plenty  of  room  at  the  feast. 

You  laugh  at  those  excuses,  but  I  want  to  ask  if  there 
is  any  one  here  to-night  with  a  better  excuse?  I  am 
going  to  take  up  the  excuses  men  bring  forward  to-day 
for  not  coming  to  Christ,  and  show  you  the  utter  ab- 
surdity and  unreasonableness  of  every  one  of  them. 

The  first  excuse  is  this:  there  is  too  much  to  give 
up.  That  is  absolutely  unreasonable.  You  say,  "Do 
you  mean  to  say  there  is  nothing  to  give  up  if  one  comes 
to  Christ?"  No,  I  say  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  never 
knew  any  one  to  come  to  Christ  yet  that  did  not  have 
to  give  up  something.  The  drunkard  has  to  give  up  his 
drunkenness,  the  gambler  his  gambling;  people  who  are 
following  the  frivolities  of  the  world  have  to  give  them 
np.  I  am  not  saying  there  is  nothing  to  give  up,  but 
still  that  excuse  is  absurd.     You  say,  "Why?"    For 


EXCUSES 


2n 


three  reasons.    In  tlie  first  place,  the  only  things  God 
asks  you  to  give  up  are  the  things  that  are  doing  you 
harm.    We  read  in  Psalm  Ixxxiv.  11 :  "The  Lord  God 
is  a  Sun  and  Shield:  the  Lord  will  give  grace  and 
glory:  no  good  thing  will  He  withhold  from  them  that 
walk  uprightly."    God  has  given  to  each  one  of  us  a 
guarantee  that  He  will  never  ask  us  to  give  up  anything 
that  is  for  our  good,  and  that  guarantee  is  His  own 
Son.    As  we  read  in  Eomans  viii.  32 :  "He  that  spared 
<  His  own  Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how 
.'     He    not     with     Him     also     freely    give     us 
..1  things?"  I  do  not  think  if  God  has  given  His  Son 
to  die  for  us.  He  is  going  to  ask  us  to  give  up  anything 
that  is  good  for  us.    I  remember  once  in  an  after-meet- 
ing, I  was  talking  to  a  young  lady  about  coming  to 
Christ.    She  said,  "Well,  I  would  like  to  be  a  Christian.'* 
"Then  become  one  now."    "Oh,  no,"  she  replied.  "Why 
not?"    "There  is  too  much  to  give  up."    I  said,  "See 
here,  do  you  think  God  loves  you?"    "Why,  I  know  He 
docs."     "How  much  do  you  think  God  loves  you?" 
"God  loved  me  enough  to  give  His  Son  to  die  for  me." 
"Well,"  I  said,  "do  you  think  that  God,  if  He  loved 
you  enough  to  give  His   Son  to   die  for  you,  will 
ask  you  to  give  up  anything  that  is  for  your  good  to 
keep?"    She  said,  "No,  Ho  will  not."    I  said,  "Do  you 
want  to  keep  anything  that  is  not  for  your  highest 
good?"    She  replied,  "No."    "Then  do  you  not  think 
you  ,.  ould  better  come  to  Christ  right  now?"    She  said, 
"I  will,"  and  she  did. 

The  second  reason  why  the  excuse  is  absurd  is  this : 
what  you  give  up  is  nothing  to  what  you  get.  It  is  very 
easy  to  give  up  tin  when  you  get  gold,  and  it  is  very 
easy  to  give  up  sin  when  you  get  God.    It  is  very  easy 


[v 


222 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


to  give  up  painted  glass  when  you  get  diamonds  and 
rubies  and  emeralds  and  pearls  instead.  And  it  is 
very  easy  to  give  up  the  baubles  of  the  world  when  you 
get  the  real  jewels  of  Heaven  in  exchange.  I  do  not 
think  that  anybody  ever  gave  up  more  for  Christ  than 
did  Paul,  and  yet,  when  he  was  sore  tried  and  in  prison, 
writing  about  what  he  gave  up,  he  said,  "What  things 
were  gain  to  me  those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ.  Yea, 
doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  for 
whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do 
count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ."  He 
said,  ''What  I  gave  up  is  nothing  to  what  I  gained." 
You  cannot  find  a  Christian  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
that  will  not  tell  you  that  what  he  gave  up  for  Christ 
was  nothing  to  what  he  got.  Suppose  there  was  some 
young  woman  in  this  town  with  a  pretty  face ;  a  bright 
girl,  but  without  very  good  sense  after  all,  with  a  good 
deal  of  vanity,  and  being  poor  and  unable  therefore  to 
buy  real  jewelry,  she  bought  imitation.  She  had  a  brass 
ring,  which  she  thought  people  would  think  was  gold, 
but  no  one  ever  thought  so.  Then  she  had  another 
ring,  with  two  bits  of  green  glass  and  a  bit  of  white 
glass  in  the  middle,  and  thought  people  believed  it 
was  a  diamond  and  emeralds,  but  they  did  not.  Then 
she  had  a  string  of  white  beads  round  her  neck,  and 
thought  people  believed  they  were  real  pearls,  but  no 
one  ever  dreamed  it.  Then  she  had  a  pair  of  earrings 
made  of  brass,  with  two  bits  of  white  glass,  and  wished 
people  to  believe  that  they  were  real  diamonds ;  nobody 
ever  thought  of  such  a  thing.  After  a  while  a  fine,  in- 
telligent, bright,  Bensible  young  fellow  falls  in  love  with 
her.    You  say  that  no  sensible  fellow  would  fall  in  love 


EXCUSES 


223 


with  a  girl  like  that.    But  you  cannot  tell  what  a  man  will 
do  when  he  falls  in  love.    One  night,  after  they  have  be- 
come well  acquainted,  he  says  to  her,  "Mary,  I  wish 
you  would  throw  away  that  brass  ring,  and  that  ring 
with  the  bits  of  glass  in  it,  and  that  white  bead  neck- 
lace, and  those  pieces  of  brass  and  glass  in  your  ears. 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  ashamed  of  them  when 
I  go  out  with  you,  and  I  wish  you  would  throw  them 
away."    She  says,  "Oh,  John,  I  think  ever  so  much  of 
you,  and  would  do  a  good  many  things  for  you,  but  I 
cannot  do  that.    They  are  the  best  I  have,  and  I  really 
think  people  believe  they  are  genuine."    "No,  no,  Mary, 
they  do  not;  they  make  you  a  laughing  stock,  and  I 
wish  vou  would  throw  them  away."     But  she  says, 
"Well,  John,  I  love  you,  but  I  really  cannot  do  it."    A 
few  nights  after  John  comes  again.     He  has  a  big 
Russian  leather  box;  he  presses  a  spring,  the  cover 
falls  back,  and  inside  it  is  lined  with  the  very  best  of 
eatin,  and  there  is  a  real  gold  ring  with  two  beautiful 
emeralds,  and  a  beautiful  diamond,  there  is  a  necklace 
of  real  pearls,  and  there  is  also  a  pair  of  real  diamond 
earrings.    "Look  there,  Mary;"  and,  oh,  how  her  eyes 
sparkle !    "Why,  John,  are  they  not  beautiful !  Who  are 
they  for?"    "Well,  Marj-,  they  are  for  you  if  you  will 
throw  away  that  brass  and  glass  of  yours."  How  long  do 
you  think  it  would  take  Mary  to  throw  away  her  imita- 
tion jewels?    Oh,  men  and  women,  cast  all  the  baubles 
of  this  world's  pleasures  into  the  fire,  and  receive  the 
gold  and  emeralds  and  rubies  and  diamonds  and  pearls 

of  Heaven. 

In  the  third  place,  the  excuse  is  absurd,  because  what 
we  give  up  for  Christ  is  nothing  to  what  Jesus  Christ 
gave  up  for  us.    Oh,  friends,  when  we  stop  to  think 


[v 


224 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


what  Jesus  Christ  gave  up  for  us,  how  ITc  left  Heaven 
and  its  glories  and  came  down  to  earth  and  its  shame, 
how  He  left  the  songs  of  praise  of  angels,  and  the  arch- 
angel, and  cherubim,  and  seraphim,  and  came  down 
here  to  be  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  to  be  spat  upon 
and  buffeted,  to  wear  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  to  bear  the 
nails  in  His  hands  and  feet  for  you  and  me,  how  un- 
grateful, how  unreasonable,  how  base,  how  black  it  is 
for  you  and  me  to  talk  about  what  we  give  up  for  Jesua 
Christ  when  we  think  of  what  He  gave  up  for  us. 

2.  Another  man  says,  "I  have  an  excuse  and  a  good 
one.  There  are  so  many  hypocrites  in  the  church." 
What  shall  I  say  to  that  excuse?  I  say  without  hesita- 
tion that  that  is  the  most  absurd  excuse  a  man  can 
ttnake.  "What,"  you  say,  "are  there  no  hypocrites  in 
the  church?"  Of  course,  there  are.  The  Bible  tells  us 
that  there  will  be  h57>oerites  in  the  church.  In  the  pas- 
sage which  I  read  to-night  Jesus  said  that  there  would 
be  hypocrites  right  up  to  the  judgment  day.  "Many 
will  say  unto  Me  in  that  day,  'Ivord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  Thy  name,  and  in  Thy  name  have  cast 
out  devils,  and  in  Thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works?'  And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never 
knew  you :  depart  from  Me  ye  that  work  iniquity." 

Of  course  there  are  hypocrites  in  the  church,  but  I 
would  like  to  know  how  that  is  an  excuse  for  your 
trampling  under  foot  the  Son  of  God.  The  fact  that 
another  man  is  a  hypocrite  is  no  reason  why  you  should 
trample  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  God's  own  Son, 
Jesus  Christ.  What  would  you  think  of  a  man  here 
in  London  refusing  his  allegiance  to  King  Edward, 
and  saying,  "No,  I  will  not  have  him  for  king;  I  have 
got  a  good  reason.'*    '*What  is  it?"    "Because  there 


m^ 


^  Jiy=sa 


EXCUSES 


OO- 


are  so  many  people  that  profess  to  be  loyal  to  Kin- 
Edward  who  are  not."  What  would  you  think  of  that 
for  an  excuse?  You  would  think  of  that  man  as  a  fit 
subject  for  a  lunatic  asylum.  But  that  is  the  way  you 
reason.  There  are  so  many  people  that  pretend  to  he 
loyal  to  Jesus  who  are  not,  that  it  excuses  you  from 
even  professing  to  be  loyal.    Bah ! 

Then  again,  if  there  are  hypocrites  in  the  church 
(and  I  have  no  doubt  of  it),  there  arc  f    ?reat  many 
good  people  in  the  church.     Of  course  I  v  >e  the  term 
church  not  meaning  any  one  denomination,  but  the 
whole  body  of  believers  in  Jesus  Christ.    There  are  a 
great  many  good  people  in  the  church;  in  fact,  all  the 
best  people  are  there.    But  if  there  were  a  church  or 
chapel  consisting  of  a  hundred  members,  and  ninety- 
nine  were  good,  straight,  upright,  downright.  Christian 
men  and  women,  and  there  was  one  poor,  miserable 
hypocrite,  you  would  overlook  the  ninety-nine   good 
straight  members,  and  fix  all  your  attention  on  the  one 
poor,  miserable  hypocrite.    Yes,  you  would!    And  do 
you  know  why  that  is?    It  is  because  you  are  a  hypo- 
crite yourself.   You  are  a  hypocrite  outside  the  church, 
and  therefore  you  are  looking  for  hypocrites  inside  the 
church  to  hide  behind.   Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that 
you  cannot  hide  behind  a  thing  which  is  smaller  than 
yourself?    You  must  be  a  mighty  small  man  or  wopian 
to  be  able  to  hide  behind  such  a  mean  hypocrite  as  that. 
God  will  have  you  out  of  that  hiding-place.    Do  you 
know  what  He  says  about  these  men  who  are  always 
talking  about  hypocrites  in  the  church?     Turn   to 
Romans  xiv.  12 :  "So  then,  every  one  of  us  shall  give 
account  of  himself  to  God."    You  won't  have  to  an- 
swer   for  the    h}T)ocrite,  but  you  will  have  to  an- 


226 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


Bwer  for  yourself.  A  friend  of  mine  was  walking  in 
Chicago  one  night  when  a  young  fellow  of  about  thirty 
walked  up,  and  my  friend  said  to  him,  "Are  you  a 
Christian?"'  He  replied,  "Xo,  sir,  I  am  not."  "Well, 
why  are  you  not  ?"  He  said,  "Because  there  are  so  many 
hypocrites  in  the  church."  My  friend  said,  "I  want  to 
show  you  something,"  and  he  opened  the  Bible  at  Ro- 
mans xiv.  12,  and  said,  "Read  that."  The  man  read, 
"and  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to 
God."  My  friend  said,  "Who  have  you  got  to  give  ac- 
count of?"  The  man  replied,  "Of  myself."  He  said, 
"To  whom  have  you  to  give  accoimt?"  The  man  re- 
plied, "To  God."  He  said,  "Are  you  ready  to  give  an 
account  of  yourself  to  God?"  and  the  man  sank  down 
on  his  knees  in  one  of  the  busiest  streets  of  Chicago, 
and  did  what  some  of  you  here  to-night  ought  to  do;  he 
cried,  "God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner." 

One  more  word  before  I  leave  this  matter.  All  the 
h.-vpocrites  are  going  to  hell.  The  Bible  says  so,  and  if 
you  keep  on  rejecting  Christ  you  are  going  there,  too. 
Now  I  will  ask  you  a  question:  Which  is  better,  to 
spend  a  few  years  with  the  hypocrites  in  the  church 
here  on  earth  (and  with  all  the  good  people  at  the 
same  time),  or  spend  eternity  with  the  hypocrites  in 
hell,  with  all  the  bad  people?  "Well,"  you  say,  'that 
excuse  is  absurd,  and  I  will  never  make  it  again."  I 
hope  you  never  will.  You  will  not  if  you  have  any  com- 
mon sense. 

3.  But  another  man  says,  "I  have  a  good  excuse.  7 
am  a  pretty  good  sort  of  a  man;  I  do  not  profess  to  be 
perfect,  but  I  think  the  good  in  my  life  will  "more  than 
balance  the  evil  in  my  life,  and  I  think  God  will  accept 
me  on  the  ground  of  the  good  I  have  done  and  the 


■■ItKii 


EXCUSES 


2»7 


character  I  have  maintained."    What  shall  I  say  to 
that  man?    I  say  this  to  every  man  and  woman  in  this 
building  to-night  who  is  out  of  Christ,  "You  are  a  very 
wicked  man ;  you  are  a  very  sinful  woman."  I  know  you 
will  say,  "I  am  not  at  all."    Yes,  you  are;  and  I  will 
prove  it  to  you.    I  will  prove  to  you  that  you  are  so 
sinful  that  you  have  broken  the  very  first  and  greatest 
of  God's  commandments.    You  may  differ  from  some 
of  your  fellow-men  and  women  on  the  minor  morali- 
ties, thank  God  you  do.    Some  men  swear,  and  you  do 
not;  some  men  lie,  and  you  do  not;  some  get  drunk, 
and  you  do  not ;  some  commit  adultery,  and  you  do  not. 
On  these  minor  moralities  you  differ  from  some  of  your 
fellow-men  and  women,  and  are  better  than  they.    But, 
on  the  great  question  of  the  treatment  of  the  infinite 
God,  before  which  all  the  minor  moralities  of  our  treat- 
ment of  men  sink  into  utter  insignificance,  you  are  all 
on  the  same  plane,  you  have  broken  the  first  and  great- 
est of  God's  commandments.     Turn  to  Matthew  xxii. 
37  and  38 :    "And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.    This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment."    Have  vou  kept  it?    Have  you  loved 
God  with  all  your  heart  and  soul  and  mind?    Have 
you  put  God  first  in  ever}'thing,  God  first  in  business, 
God  first  in  pleasure,  God  first  in  pf^litics,  God  first  in 
social  life,  God  first  in  study,  God  first  everywhere. 
Have  you  done  this  ?    Y^ou  say,  "Xo,  I  have  not."    Then 
you  stand  convicted  before  God  of  having  broken  the 
first  and  greatest  of  God's  commandments,  of  having 
committed  the  very  worst  sin  that  a  man  or  woman 
can  commit.    One  night  after  a  meeting  like  this, 
«    friend    of    mine,    a    pastor    in    Chicago,    came 


IV 


228 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


to  me  and  eaid,  "I    have  a  young  man  who  grants 
to  enter  the  ministry.    I  want  you  to  talk  to  him.''    He 
brought  up  the  young  man,  and  I  said  to  him,  "The 
pastor  says  you  want  to  be  a  minister."    lie  said,  "Yes, 
I  do.''    I  said,  "Are  you  a  Christian  ?"    lie  answered, 
"Why,  of  course  I  am.    I  was  brought  up  as  a  Chris- 
tian, and  I  am  not  going  back  on  tlie  training  of  my 
parents."     I  said,  "Have  you  ever  been  born  again?" 
He  said,  "What?"     I  said,  "The  Word  of  God  says 
'except  a  man  bo  bom  again,  ho  cannot  see  the  King- 
dom of  God.'    Have  5'ou  boon  born  again  ?"    He  replied, 
"I  never  heard  of  that  before  in  all  my  life."    I  said, 
"Do  you  know  that  you  have  committed  the  greatest 
sin  a  man  can  commit?"    He  said,  "No,  I  never  have." 
"What  do  you  think  is  the  greatest  sin?"     He  said, 
"Murder,  of  course."     I  said,  "You  are  greatly  mis- 
taken.   See  what  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  says  about  it." 
And  I  opened  the  Bible  at  Matthew  xxii.  37,  .38,  and 
he  read:  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
Ihy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind. 
This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment."     I  said, 
"Which  commandment  is  that?"    He  replied,  "It  is  the 
first  and  great  coonraandraent."     I  said,  "Have  you 
kept  it?    Have  you   loved  God  with  all  your  heart 
and  soul  and  mind  ?    Have  you  put  God  first  in  every- 
thing, God  first  in  business,  God  first  in  study,  God 
first  in  pleasure,  God  first  in  everything?"     He  an- 
swered, "No,  sir,  I  have  not."    "Well,  what  have  you 
done?"  "I  have  broken  this  commandment."    "Wliich 
commandment  is  it?"    "It  is  the  first  and  great  com- 
mandment."    "What  have  you  done?"     He  said,  "I 
have  committed  the  greatest  sin  a  man  can  possibly 


EXCUSES 


229 


commit ;  I  have  broken  the  first  and  greatest  of  God's 
commandments,  but  I  never  saw  it  before  in  all  my  life." 

Probably  you  never  saw  it  before,  but  you  see  it  to- 
night. There  is  no  difference.  Every  man  and  woman 
out  of  Christ  has  broken  the  first  and  greatest  of  God's 
commandments,  and  there  is  no  hope  for  you  outside  the 
atoning  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  shed  on  the  Cross  of 
Calvary.  When  I  was  in  Sydney,  I  said  that  at  a 
meeting,  and  the  next  day  I  received  a  note  from  a 
lady,  who  said,  "I  wish  you  would  pray  for  me.  I  have 
been  trusting  in  my  morality,  but  you  showed  me  last 
night  that  I  was  a  very  wicked  woman."  Oh,  may  God 
grant  that  some  of  you  here  to-night,  that  have  been 
trusting  in  your  goodness,  may  see  that  in  God's  sight 
you  are  very  wicked  men,  very  sinful  women,  for  you 
have  broken  the  first  and  greatest  of  God's  laws. 

4.  Another  man  says,  "That  excuse  is  not  a  good 
one.  I  wonder  that  any  intelligent  man  should  ever 
make  it.  But  I  have  a  good  one.  I  am  too  great  a 
sinner  to  come  to  Christ."  Now,  I  believe  people  make 
that  exci  ~e  honestly.  I  believe  there  are  a  great  many 
people  who  would  like  to  come,  but  tliink  they  are  too 
bad.  What  shall  I  say  to  them  ?  What  God  says  in  1 
Timothy  i.  15:  "This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy 
of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners ;  of  whom  I  am  chief."  I  remember  one 
Sunday  morning  in  my  church,  one  of  the  deacons 
walked  down  the  aisle  to  a  man  of  about  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  who  was  standing  up.  My  deacon  turned 
to  him  and  said,  "Are  you  a  Christian?"  "Xo,"  he 
said,  "1  am  not."  "Why  not  b^'^ome  one  now?"  He 
replied,  "I  am  too  great  a  sinm  to  be  ^r-ved."  My 
deacon  said,  "Thank  God."    Then  he  turned  to  mc  and 


IV 


230 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


said,  "Come  hero,  Brother  Torrcy.  Here  is  a  man  who 
is  too  great  a  sinner  to  be  saved,  thank  God."  The  man 
stood  in  amazomont,  wondering  what  it  all  meant.  But 
I  understood,  and  I  went  down  and  said,  "Is  that 
true?"  He  said,  "Yes,  I  am  too  great  a  sinner  to  be 
saved."  I  said,  "Let  me  show  you  what  God  says," 
and  I  opened  tlie  Bible  at  1  Timothy  i.  15:  "This  is  a 
faithful  saying,and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  pa\e  sinners,  of  whom  I 
am  chief."  "^Vell,"  he  said,  "I  am  chief."  He  was  a 
hardened  sinner ;  he  had  run  away  from  his  wife,  and 
gone  up  to  the  North- West;  had  gone  in  for  gambling, 
had  laid  down  35,000  dollars  just  a  week  before,  and 
was  a  desperate  man.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I  am  chief." 
I  said,  "It  means  you,  then."  I  said,  "Will  you  accept 
Jesus  Christ  right  now  ?"  and  he  said,  "I  will,"  and  he 
dropped  down  on  his  knees  and  acc?>pted  Christ  then 
and  there.  He  stayed  with  us  about  two  weeks,  and 
went  up  to  the  Xorth-West,  and  came  back  again,  and 
everv  night  was  in  the  meeting  leading  others  to  Christ, 
sent  for  his  wife,  set  up  a  new  home,  and  was  so  happy 
that  he  adopted  a  little  child  oul  of  the  orphan  asylum 
to  make  his  home  complete.  He  was  "too  great  a  sin- 
ner to  be  ?aved,"  but  he  was  saved  in  five  minutes. 

5.  Another  man  rays,  "My  excuse  is  different.  I 
cannot  hold  out/'  Well,  that  excuse  is  perfectly  ab- 
surd. "Why  is  my  excuse  absurd?"'  Because  God 
does  not  ask  you  to  hold  out.  Holding  out  is  not  your 
businof  s.  That  is  the  business  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
We  rend  in  Jude,  verse  24:  '  ile  is  able  to  keep  you 
from  fallinp,  nnd  to  present  you  faultless  before  the 
pr?sence  of  His  glory  with  exceedin?  joy."  Ah,  men 
aud  women,  there  is  not  a  man  who  is  able  to  hold 


EXCUSES 


231 


out  in  his  own  strength.  But,  thank  God,  there  is  not 
a  man  or  woman  so  weak  that  Jesus  Christ  cannot  keep 
him  or  her.  A  man  in  Xew  York  one  nijjht  was  on  the 
verge  of  delirium  tremens.  lie  had  had  it  again  and 
again.  lie  had  commiltcd  139  forgories,  all  against 
one  man.  He  went  to  the  Cremorno  Mission,  and  hoard 
Jerry  M'Auley  tell  how  the  Lord  Jesu-s  Christ  had  saved 
him;  and  when  Jerry  said,  "If  there  is  any  one  wants 
to  be  saved  to-night,  let  them  come  to  the  front,"  he 
went  up  the  aisle,  a'- '  "  ^  "Pray  for  me."  Jerry  said, 
"Pray  for  yourself,  ;  .^  ue  did  not  know  how  to  pray; 
he  had  forgotten  how;  the  man  had  gone  away  down 
through  drink,  and  was  an  outcast.  Jerry  said,  "Pray 
for  yourself."  And  Sam  Hadley  cried  out,  "God  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  and  before  he  got  up  he  was 
a  transformed  man.  Some  years  after  I  was  in  Washing- 
ton, presiding  at  a  conference.  Mr.  Wanamaker,  thon 
Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
was  there,  and  he  said  to  me,  "I  want  you  to  come 
round  to  my  house  to  dinner,"  and  I  went  round.  And 
when  I  was  ushered  into  the  drawing-room,  who 
should  I  see  sitting  there  but  Sam  Hadley  and  his  wife, 
honoured  guests  in  the  home  of  the  Postmaster-General 
of  the  United  States  of  Vmerica — the  former  forger! 
And  there  is  not  a  more  honoured  man  in  New  York 
City  to-day  than  Mr.  Samuel  Hadley,  as  he  is  now 
called. 

Oh  friends,  thank  God  there  is  not  a  man  or  woman 
so  weak,  so  helpless  and  hopeless,  but  Jesus  Christ  can 
hold  them  if  they  put  their  trust  in  Him  to-night. 

6.  Just  one  more  excuse.  Another  man  says,  "My 
excui-e  is  a  little  diflferent.  God  won't  receive  me  if  I 
<»me."     People  make  this  txcuse  in  different  ways. 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


"I  have  sinned  away  the  day  of  grace,  T  have  com- 
mitted the  unpardonable  sin,  and  He  won't  receive  me 
if  I  come."    What  shall  I  say  to  this?    I  will  say  tliat 
excuse  is  just  as  absurd  as  any.    Why?    Because  it  is 
contradicting  God's  plain  statement  in  John  vi.  37, 
"Him  that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
Thank  God,  there  is  not  a  man  or  woman  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  not  a  man  or  woman  in  London,  or  in  this 
building  to-night,  but  if  you  come  to  Jesus  Christ  He 
will  take  you  and  save  you.    At  one  time  in  Chicago  I 
received  a  letter  something  like  this:     "I  have  a  son 
who  thinks  he  has  committed  the  unpardonable  sin. 
He  has  been  for  months  in  despair,  has  attempted  sui- 
cide five  times.  I  wish  you  would  take  him  at  the  Bible 
Institute."     That  was  very  touching.     Nevertheless,  I 
felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  as  the  superintendent  of  the 
Institute,  to  write :    "I  sympathize  with  you  deeply,  but 
I  cannot  take  your  son.     That  is  not  the  purpose  of 
the  Institute,  which  is  for  the  training  of  men  and 
women  for  Christian  work."     He  replied,  and  said, 
"You  must  take  him;  if  you  do  not,  we  do  not  know 
what  to  do."     I  wrote  again  that  I  had  the  deepest 
sympathy  with  him,  but  was  entrusted  with  the  funds 
of  the  Institute,  and  it  was  not  right  to  take  his  son." 
Then  some  one  else  wrote  to  me — a  personal  friend — 
and  said,  "I  want  you  to  take  him  for  my  sake."    He 
had  been  a  great  friend  of  the  Institute,  and  I  now 
felt  that  I  was  warranted  in  taking  the  young  man, 
and  wrote  telling  the  father  to  send  him.     They  sent 
him  under  guard — for  they  dared  not  trust  him  alone 

and  he  was  brought  to  me.    Mr.  Lyon  said,  "This  is 

Mr.  So-and-so.     I  suppose  I  can  go  now."    'Tes,"  I 
said,  "leave  him  alone  with  me."    I  said,  "Sit  dowp" 


EXCUSES 


«33 


He  looked  at  me  and  said,  "I  am  possessed  of  the  devil." 
I  said,  "I  guess  you  are.     But  Jesus  Christ  came  to 
cast  out  devils."    He  said,  "I  mean  that  the  devil  has 
entered  into  me  as  he  did  into  Judas  Iscariot."     I 
said,  "That's  very  likely,  but  Jesus  Christ  is  mightier 
than  the  devil,  and  can  set  you  free  from  the  power 
of  the  devil."     He  said,  "I  have  committed  the  un- 
pardonable sin."    I  said,  "Jesus  said,  *Him  that  com- 
eth  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.' "    He  said,  "I 
was  once  enlightened  and  tasted  the  gift,  I  fell  away, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  renew  me  again."    He  knew 
his  Bible,  you  see  I    But  I  said,  "Jesus  says,  *Him  that 
Cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wist  cast  out.'  "    He  said, 
"I   have  sinned  willfully  after  having  received   the 
knowledge  of  the  truth."  I  said,  "But  Jesus  says,  'Him 
that  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'    Will 
you  come?"    Well,  he  did  not  come  then.     Days  and 
weeks  passed,  and  then  one  day  I  met  him  in  the  Insti- 
tute, where  he  was  stopping,  in  the  hall-way  on  the 
second  floor,  and  I  thought  the  time  had  come  to  have 
it  out.    I  said,  "Sit  down,"  and  he  sat  down  beside  me. 
1  said,  "Do  you  believe  the  Bible?"    "Yes,"  he  said, 
"I  do,  everything  in  it."     "Do  you  believe  John  vi. 
37?"    He  said,  "Yes,  and  I  can  quote  it:  Tlim  that 
cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'"    I  said, 
"Do  you  believe  that?"     "Of  course  I  do;  I  believe 
everything  in  the  Bible."    "Why  do  you  not  come?" 
He  said,  "I  am  possessed  with  the  devil."    I  said,  "The 
Bible  does  not  say  'Him  that  is  not  possessed  with  the 
devil  if  he  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  him 
out.'    It  says,  'Him  that  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  no  wise 
cast  out.'  "    He  said,  "I  mean  that  the  devil  has  entered 
into  me  as  he  did  into  Judas  Iscariot."   I  said,  "It  does 


2u4 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


not  say  'Him  that  the  devil  has  not  entered  into,  if  he 
cometh  unto  Mo,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'  It  says 
'Him  that  cometh  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.' "  He  said, 
"I  have  been  once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted  the 
heavenly  gift,  and  have  fallen  away,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  renew  me  unto  repentance."  I  said,  "It  does 
not  say,  'If  you  have  not  been  once  enlightened,  and 
tasted  the  heavenly  gift,  and  fallen  away,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  you  out.'  It  says,  'Him  that  cometh  unto  Me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.' "  He  said,  "I  have  sinned 
wilfully  after  I  have  received  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth."  I  said,  "It  does  not  say  'If  you  have  not  sinned 
wilfully  after  receiving  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  if 
you  come  unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  you  out.'  It 
says,  'Him  that  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wi«'  -ist 
out.'"  He  said,  "My  heart  is  as  hard  as  t^  -  ^^  '' 
T  said,  "It  does  not  say  'If  your  heart  is  soft  -^n- 

dcr,  and  you  come  unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  ^ .  you 
out ;'  but  'Him  that  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out.' "  He  said,  "I  do  not  feel  like  coming."  I 
said,  "It  doesn't  say  'If  you  feel  like  coming,  and  come 
nnto  Mo,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  you  out.'  It  says,  'Him 
that  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.' "  He 
said,  "I  don't  know  that  I  will  come  the  right  way."  I 
said,  "It  does  not  say  'If  you  come  the  right  way  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  you  out.'  It  says  'Him  that  cometh  unto 
Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.' "  And  the  young  man 
had  got  to  the  end  of  his  rope!  Now,  I  said,  "Will 
you  come?  Get  down,"  and  I  put  my  hand  on  his 
shoulder  and  helped  him  down.  I  said,  "None  of  your 
foolishness;  do  you  beliovo  in  the  Bible?"  He  said, 
"I  do."  Then  I  said,  "Follow  me,"  and  I  looked  up 
and  said,  while  he  repeated  the  words  after  me,  sen- 


EXCUSES 


235 


tence  by  sentence,  "0  God,  I  am  a  miserable  sinner, 
and  do  not  deserve  Thy  mercy.  My  heart  is  as  hard  as 
this  floor;  I  do  not  feel  like  coming;  but  Jesus  says, 
*Ilim  that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,'  and 
I  believe  that,  just  because  Jesus  says  it.  Lord  Jesus, 
the  best  I  know,  I  cotoe."  I  said,  "Did  you  come  ?  Did 
you  mean  it?"  He  said,  "I  did."  I  said,  "Follow  me 
again,"  and  he  again  repeated  the  words  after  me,  sen- 
tence by  sentence.  "Lord  Jesus,  Thou  hast  said,  'Him 
that  cometh  to  JTj  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'  I  have 
come,  therefore  Thou  hast  received  me,  and  I  thank 
Thee."  I  said,  "Has  He  received  you?"  He  said,  "I 
don't  feel  it."  I  said,  "I  did  not  ask  what  you  felt; 
what  does  Jesus  say?"  He  said,  "Him  that  cometh 
unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  "Did  you  come?" 
"I  did."  "What  has  Jesus  done?"  "He  has  received 
me."  "Now,"  I  said,  "go  right  to  your  room.  The 
devil  will  give  you  an  awful  fight,  I  have  no  doubt. 
But  you  kneel  right  down  with  both  knees  on  John  vi. 
37,  and  fight  the  devil  with  it,  and  you  believe  what 
God  says,  no  matter  what  the  devil  whispers."  Ho 
went  to  his  room,  and  the  devil  gave  him  an  awful 
time,  but  he  kept  both  his  knees  on  John  vi.  37,  and 
came  out  with  the  light  of  Heaven  on  his  face.  He 
soon  began  to  preach  and  teach  the  Bible,  and  is  to-day 
one  of  the  most  useful  men  on  earth. 

God's  Word  is  pure,  in  spite  of  the  devil,  in  spite  of 
your  fear,  in  spite  of  everything.  And,  standing  on 
God's  Word,  T  proclaim  to  every  man  and  woman  in 
this  room  that  if  you  come  to  Jesus  Christ  He  will  take 
you  to-night.    Will  you  come? 


XVI 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 

*rnie  fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare."— Provebbs  xxix.  25. 

I  have  a  long  text  to-night,  in  fact  three  texts.    The 
text  is  the  best  part  of  the  sermon.    If  a  sermon  is 
bettc-  'han  the  text  it  is  a  poor  sermon.    A  good  ser- 
mon is  simply  an  exposition  of  the  text.    You  will  find 
the  first  text  in  Proverbs  xxix.  25 :    "The  fear  of  man 
bringeth  a  snare,"     Whatever  your  views  about  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible  may  be,  you  know  that  this 
verse  is  true  enough,  anyhow.     How  many  times  we 
have  seen  that  statement  of  God's  Word  fulfilled.    How 
many  a  man  and  woman  in  London  to-night  has  been 
snared  by  the  fear  of  man,  and  ruined  for  time  and 
eternity.    For  example,  how  many  a  young  man  has 
come  up  to  London,  a  pure,  innocent,  upright,  temper- 
ate young  fellow,  and  intended  to  lead  a  sober,  honest, 
industrious  life  in  this  great  city.     He  knew  some- 
thing about  the  perils  of  drink,  and  was  wise  enough 
not  to  touch  it;  and  he  comes  to  London  intending 
to  be  what  every  man  and  woman  ought  to  be,  a  total 
abstainer.    One  night  this  young  man  goes  out  to  din- 
ner, and  the  gentleman  at  the  head  of  the  table  urges 
him  to  take  a  glass  of  wine.    But  this  young  man  re- 
fuses; he  says,  "1  never  drink."   The  gentleman  laughs 
at  him,  the  other  people  at  the  table  chaff  him,  some  say 
that  he  is  insulting  the  host  or  hostess  by  not  drink- 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 


237 


ing  to  their  health,  and  the  fear  of  man  brings  him 
into  the  snare.    He  takes  his  first  glass  of  wine,  and 
that  leads  on  to  another  and  another  and  another,  and 
to-night  he  is  a  drunkard  on  the  streets  of  London, 
because  of  the  fear  of  man,  reputation  gone,  manhood 
gone,  brain  power  gone,  business  capacity  gone,  every- 
thing gone;  the  fear  of  man  has  proved  his  temporal 
and  eternal  ruin.    How  many  a  young  fellow  comes  up 
to  this  great  city  of  London,  an  honest  yoimg  man, 
who  has  never  gambled  in  his  life.    He  plays  an  oc- 
casional frienvxly  game  of  cards;  but  one  night,  after 
work,  he  is  out  in  the  company  of  a  few  friends  and 
they  are  playing  cards  as  usual,  and  some  one  of  the 
group  suggests  that  they  should  put  up  a  little  stake, 
only  a  small  amount,  just  to  make  the  game  interest- 
ing.    The  young  man  hesitates,  but  they  say,  **You 
don't  need  to  gamble,  it  is  only  threepence  or  sixpence 
either  way;  we  are  not  going  to  play  for  high  stakes." 
He  says,  «I  never  gamble;  I  believe  '^  is  dishonest." 
But  they  laugh  at  him,  and  chaff  him,  and  tell  him 
he  should  go  along  to  Sunday  School;  and  he  cannot 
stand  their  chaff,  and  he  puts  up  his  first  threepenny 
bit  on  a  gam    of  cards.    The  passion  of  the  gambler, 
which  is  a  more  consuming  passion  than  that  of  strong 
drink  and  more  ruinous,  takes  possession  of  him;  he 
robs  his  employer,  and  to-day  he  is  in  prison,  because 
the  fear  of  man  led  him  to  gamble,  and  mined  him 
utterly. 

How  many  a  young  girl  has  come  up  here  from  the 
country,  a  modest,  innocent  girl,  but  without  firm 
Christian  principles.  She  lives  in  very  poor  lodgings; 
and,  seeking  for  a  little  gaiety  and  a  little  brightness 
in  her  humdrum  life,  she  goes  occasionally  to  the 


238 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


theatre,  goes  to  dances  and  gatherings  of  that  sort. 
She  becomes  quite  infatuated  with  the  dance,  and  one 
night,  a  very  pleasant  and  attractive  young  fellow, 
with  whom  she  has  become  aciuainted  at  the  dance, 
makes  a  subtle  suggestion  to  her  that  she  does  not  ex- 
actly understand,  but  at  which  her  modesty  revolts, 
and  she  repels  it  with  indignation.  But  he  laughs  at 
her.  "Why,"  he  says,  "you  don't  understand.  I  don't 
mean  any  harm  at  all;  it  is  quite  a  common  thing." 
And  that  girl  has  learnt  to  permit  familiarity  which 
no  modest  girl  would  allow  herself  to  permit— for  the 
ballroom  admits  of  familiarity  which  is  permitted  by 
decent  people  nowhere  outside  of  the  ballroom.  It 
is  the  first  step  to  a  blasted  life,  and  that  girl  to-night 
is  an  outcast  on  the  streets  of  London.  The  fear  of 
man  has  brought  a  snare  which  has  ruined  her. 

My  next  text  is  in  John  xii.  42  and  43:  "Never- 
theless among  the  chief  rulers  also  many  believed  on 
Him,  but  because  of  the  Pharisees  they  did  not  confess 
Him,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of  the  sj-nagogue. 
For  they  loved  the  praise  of  men  more  than  the  praise 
of  God."  Now  that  was  written  about  Jerusalem  in 
Christ's  time,  but  it  sounds  just  as  if  it  were  written 
about  London  to-day.  How  many  men  there  are  in 
London,  leading  men,  just  like  these  chief  rulers  of 
Jerusalem,  who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  in  their  hearts, 
but  they  do  not  confess  Him  with  their  mouths  for  fear 
of  what  men  will  say  of  them,  for  they  love  the  praise 
of  men  more  than  the  praise  of  God.  It  is  moral  cow- 
ardice. There  are  hundreds  and  thousands  and  tens 
of  thonsands  of  men  and  women  just  as  fully  con- 
vineed  as  T  am  Ihaf  Jppus  Onht  h  the  ^on  of  God. 


HMMM 


-'^"-^''^""ni 


n^ 


mggj^g^^m 


HEEOES  AND  COWARDS 


239 


and  yet  holding  back  from  open,  public  confession  of 
Christ  because  of  moral  cowardice. 

Xow  turn  to  the  third  text,  in  2  Corinthians  xii. 
10.     It  is  a  very  different  picture.    In  the  two  texts 
thu?  far  we  have  a  picture  of  the  moral  coward;  now 
we  get  to  the  glorious  picture  of  the  moral  hero: 
"Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  reproaches, 
in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses,  for  Christ's 
sake."    Ah,  there  is  a  picture  worth  looking  at!     A 
man  who  was  reproached  for  the  name  of  God,  perse- 
cuted for  his  loyalty  to  the  truth,  but  although  they 
heaped  all  manner  of  infamy  on  him,  he  looked  up  with 
a  smiling  face  and  said,  "I  take  pleasure  in  infamy." 
Paul  went  down  to  Lystra,  and  because  of  his  loyalty 
to  the  truth  and  his  outspoken  defence  of  the  truth, 
they  stoned  him,  after  they  had  almost  worshipped  him; 
and  they  dragged  him  outside  the  city.    His  disciples 
stood  round  thinking  he  was  dead.    But  after  a  while 
he  rose  up  again,  and  went  back  to  Lystra.    Then  he 
went  to  Derbe.    Some  of  the  cautious  Christian  breth- 
ren at  Derbe,  remembering  what  had  occurred  at  Lys- 
tra, doubtless  said:    "Now,  Paul,  it  is  all  right  to  be 
loyal  and  to  believe  on  Jesus  Christ,  but  you  must  be 
a  little  more  politic.    It  is  no  use  running  so  directly 
against  people's  prejudices.    Now,  Paul,  don't  you  be 
quite  60  outspoken  here,  or  they  will  treat  you  in 
Derbe  just  the  same  as  they  treated  you  in  Lystra. 
Now,  Paul,  be  a  little  more  politic  and  compromise  a 
little  bit."    And  that  magnificent  man  looked  up  and 
said,  "I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities  and  distresses  for 
Christ's  sake."     Men  and  women,  what  you  need  in 
London  more  than  anything  else  is  a  few  men  like 
Paul,  and  a  few  women  with  the  same  spirit,  men  and 


240 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


women  who  will  stand  for  Christ  and  stand  for  God's 
kingdom  without  compromise,  no  matter  whom  it  hurts 
or  what  people  say.  Now  my  subject  to-night,  derived 
fro'n  these  three  texts,  is  "Heroes  and  Cowards.'* 

I  wish  to  say  right  here  at  the  beginning  that  it 
takes  courage  to  be  a  Christian,  to  be  a  real,  true, 
outspoken  follower  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  and  I  live 
in  a  God  hating  world;  we  live  in  a  compromising  age 
— an  age  in  which  men  professing  to  be  Christians 
are  trying  to  please  the  world  and  carry  on  the  Church 
of  Christ  so  that  there  will  be  no  difference  between 
the  church  and  the  world.  Now  in  a  God-hating  world 
like  this,  and  in  a  compromising  age  like  this,  it  takes 
courage  to  be  an  out-and-out  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 
It  takes  more  courage  than  a  great  many  of  you  have 
got.  Many  a  man  to-day  who  has  great  courage,  who 
has  courage  enough  to  be  a  soldier,  who  has  courage 
enough  to  go  to  war,  courage  enough  to  go  to  the  front, 
courage  enough  to  stand  on  the  firing  line,  and  stand  in 
the  face  of  a  galling  fire  from  the  enemy's  guns,  has 
not  courage  enough  to  go  back  to  the  barracks  at  night 
and  kneel  down  and  say  his  prayers,  and  endure  the 
chaff  of  his  fellow-soldiers.  It  takes  courage,  the 
Bublimest  courage  to  be  an  out-and-out  Christian. 

But  I  will  give  you  to-night  five  reasons  why  every 
man  and  woman  should  publicly  confess  Christ  before 
the  world. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  lecause  Be  is  such  a  glorious 
Lord  and  Master.  There  is  nothing  to  be  ashamed 
of  in  Jesus  Christ.  A  young  fellow  got  up  in  a 
meeting  (he  had  been  recently  converted),  and  he 
tried  to  give  a  little  testimony  for  Jesus  Christ.  But 
he  was  inexperienced  in  public  testimony  and  could 


iiifl 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 


241 


no£  talk  very  well;  and,  after  he  had  sat  down,  an  old 
gentleman  got  up  and  said,  "Young  man,  you  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of  yourself.     You  cannot  preach,  and 
you  ought  not  to  try;  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
yourself."    Then  the  young  man  rose  again  and  said : 
**Well,  I  am  ashamed  of  myself,  but  I  am  not  ashamed 
of  my  Lord."    Ah,  the  trouble  with  some  of  you  gen- 
tlemen is  that  you  are  not   ashamed  of  yourselves, 
though  you  ought  to  be,  but  you  are  ashamed  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.     I  never  met  an  Englishman  who  was 
ashamed  of  Queen  Victoria.  I  would  have  been  ashamed 
of  him  if  I  had  met  one,  she  was  such  a  glorious  Queen. 
I  have  never  met  an  Englishman  who  was  ashamed 
of  King  Edward.    But  glorious  a  Queen  as  Queen  Vic- 
toria was  (and  though  I  am  an  American  citizen  I 
believe  she  was   the  most  glorious   Queen  that  ever 
reigned  on  earth),  and  glorious  a  King  as  we  expect 
King  Edward  to  become,  the  glory  of  Queen  Victoria 
and  the  glory  of  King  Edward  pales  into  utter  insig- 
nificance before  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ.     Oh,  men 
and  women,  there  is  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of  in  Jesus 
Christ.    It  is  the  noblest  thing  a  man  can  say,  "I  am 
a  follower  of  the  perfect  Man ;  I  am  a  follower  of  the 
Son  of  God;  I  am  a  follower  of  the  One  infinitely 
glorious,  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth." 

2.  In  the  second  place,  every  man  and  woman 
should  confess  the  Lord  Jesus  publicly  before  the  world 
for  the  sake  of  their  influence.  Every  man  has  an 
influonce.  There  is  no  man  in  London  that  has  not 
an  influence.  Every  one  here  has  an  influence,  either 
for  Jesus  Christ  or  against  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  no 
man  or  woman  or  child  here  to-night  who,  if  they  con- 
fessed Jesus  before  the  world  as  their  Lord,  and  lived  in 


Hit 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


accordance  with  that  confesBion,  would  not  have  an  in- 
fluence to  bring  somebody  else  to  Christ.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  no  man,  woman,  or  child  here  to-night, 
who  if  he  does  not  confess  Christ,  no  matter  how  well 
he  lives,  has  not  an  influence  against  Christ;  and  the 
better  he  lives  the  more  his  influence  is  against  Christ, 
for  people  look  at  him  and  say,  "Look  at  that  man; 
as  far  as  I  can  see  he  lives  just  as  well  as  thtrfo  pro- 
fessed Christians,  and  he  is  not  "  Christian,  does  not 
profess  faith  in  Christ,  I  don't  t  the  need  of  becom- 
ing a  Christian."  Oh,  every  or  of  you  men  that  are 
not  openly,  decidedly,  constants  confessing  Christ  bo- 
fore  the  world,  you  have  an  influence  against  Jesus 
Christ. 

At  one  time,  when  Horace  Bushnell  was  a  tutor  in 
Yale  College,  they  had  a  great  revival  throughout  the 
college.  Horace  Bushnell  was  the  most  popular  tutor 
in  Yale,  but  he  was  not  a  Christian.  And  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  a  Christian  was  a  stumbling-block  in 
the  way  of  many  of  the  students.  Horace  Bushnell 
knew  it,  and  was  greatly  disturbed  by  it.  He  went 
home  one  night  in  great  uneasiness.  Something  said 
to  him,  "You  stand  right  in  the  way  of  this  work;  if 
you  were  a  Christian  there  are  dozens  of  the  young 
men  of  Yale  College  that  would  come  to  Christ." 
"But,"  said  he  to  himself,  "how  can  I  come  to  Christ  ? 
I  don't  believe  in  the  Bible,  and  I  don't  believe  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  I  cannot  play  the 
hypocrite,  just  so  as  not  to  stand  in  the  way  of 
others.'*  He  was  very  uneasy,  and  walked  up  and  down 
his  room  thinking  about  it.  Finally,  a  voice  said  to 
him  in  his  heart,  "Horace  Bushnell,  what  do  you 
believe  anyhow?'*    ''Well,  one  thing  I  believe  ia  that 


sBa 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 


243 


there  is  an  absolute  difference  between  right  and 
wrong."  "Weil,  have  you  taken  your  stand  on  that 
which  you  do  believe?  You  talk  about  what  you  do 
not  believe,  think  about  what  you  do  believe.  Have 
you  ever  taken  your  stand  on  right,  to  follow  it  wher- 
ever it  carries  you,  even  if  it  carries  you  over  the 
Niagara  Falls?"  He  said,  "No,  I  never  have,  but  I 
will."  And  he  prayed,  "0  God,  if  there  is  any  God, 
show  me  if  Jesus  Christ  is  Thy  Son,  and  if  you  will 
show  me  that  I  will  promise  to  accept  Him  as  my 
Saviour  and  confess  Him  before  the  world,"  and  in  a 
short  time  the  light  burst  in  upon  Horace  Bushnell's 
darkened  soul,  and  he  came  out  on  the  side  of  Christ, 
and  almos>  3very  young  man  in  Yale  College  was  con- 
verted. 

Oh,  friends,  if  you  say  you  are  agnostics,  if  you 
say  you  are  sceptics,  have  you  ever  made  an  honest 
attempt  to  get  out  of  your  agnosticism?  If  you  have 
not  yoar  agnosticism  is  no  excuse,  none  whatever.  Ah, 
if  some  of  you  men  and  women  of  London  occupying 
prominent  places  and  positions,  if  you  took  your  stand 
where  you  ought  to  take  it  to-night,  on  the  side  of  truth, 
scores  of  others  would  come  to  Christ. 

When  Mr.  Charies  G.  Finney  was  preaching  at 
Rochester,  New  York,  in  the  thirties,  a  great  many 
lawyers  came  to  hear  him,  and  one  night,  away  up  in 
the  gallery,  sat  the  Chief- Justice  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals of  the  State  of  New  York.  As  he  sat  there 
listening  to  Mr.  Finney's  tremendous  logic,  the  Chief- 
Justice  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  New  York  State 
became  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  what  Mr.  Finney 
preached.  Then  the  question  came  to  him,  "Will  you 
come  forward  like  the  other  ordinary  men  and  women 


'^44 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


to  the  'anxious  seat?'"  Something  in  him  said,  "It 
will  never  d(  n  the  world.  You  occupy  the  most  ex- 
alted legal  p<j6ition  in  New  York  State;  you  are  the 
Chief-Justice  of  the  Court  of  Appeals;  it  would  never 
do  in  the  world  for  you  to  walk  down  =  i  from,  and 
seek  salvation  kneeling  down  at  the  'anxious  seat.'" 
He  ?at  there  tlunking  for  a  while;  then  ho  said  to 
himself,  "Why  not?  I  am  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
that  man's  position.  I  know  my  duty;  why  should 
I  not  do  it  like  any  other  man?"  He  got  up  f-  "m  his 
place  in  the  g;  ller\%  and  went  down  the  stain  y,  and 
came  up  the  stairs  back  of  where  M  Finney  w^s 
preaching,  and  Mr.  Finney,  in  the  midst  .f  his  mon 
felt  some  one  pulling  on  the  skirts  oi  lis  co  Hi 
turned  round,  and  there  stood  the  Chi  t-Justice  os  the 
Court  of  Appeals  of  Xew  York  State.  ■.  le  asked,  '  A'ha 
is  it?"  The  Chief- Justice  replied,  "Mr.  Finney,  if 
you  will  call  for  people  to  come  to  the  anxious  scat,' 
I  will  come."  Mr.  Finney  stopped  his  sen;  on  and  said, 
"The  Chief- Justice  of  the  Court  of  Api  als  of  n>w 
York  State  says  if  I  v  ill  call  for  anxious  ones  t 
to  the  'anxious  seat,'  he  will  come.    T  -al^  for  ; 


ones  now" ;  and  the  Ctii^'f-Justice  o;  lii       ourt 


peai.'S  went  down  uV><\  took  hi?  sea    on 
seat,"  and  almost  ev<   }'  lawyer    nd  ha  -i-- 
ter  was  eonverte^i.  and  it  is     ;  1  100,u 
converted  in  twelv*    months  m  -bat  dist 


ome 

Ap- 

ijixious 

lioches- 

>  were 


Ladies  and  gent    nen.       re 
to-night  who,  if  yo    had  ;      f 
tions  and  came  to  *    .r=t,  n(; 
want  to,  but  walked  righ    -ntt  ar 
here  in  front  when  I  calk 
London.     Are  you  men  tti  a-. 


•0  some         tu  here 

r  of  y        convic- 

V  as  some  of  you 

ok  your  seat  down 

.y  it,  it  would  shake 

to  do  it?    Are  yoi 


f'Sf' 


HBB  »ES  AND  COWABPS 


245 


wtfn  ^n  enough  t.  do  if:  Your  influei  c  may  not  be 
Mgratas  lat,  butalloi  .u  have  an  ii  flut  ace.  Will 
you  exert  i.   for  Jesus  C  urist  when  tb    time  coi    s 

t  -iiight?  ,     ,^      ,     , 

3  In  the  third  place,  every  one  should  pubi  "Hj  m- 
ffss  rhrist  before  the  world,  because  it  '>  the  o.  tmy 
to  obtain  the  fulness  of  bless,"!  thai        n   >s  m  J     ■« 


iSl 


words  of    tie 

-  Mc  boi  tre 

ithcr  which 

Vforo  men, 

ich  is  in 

ave  Jesus 

,  ae  Father  in 


Christ.    In  Matthow  x,  '^'?,  3o.  a 
Ma?ter  himself:    "Whosoever     lal 
men.  him  will  1  also  confess     -for 
i?  in    '  >aven;  but  whosoever  si 
him       1  I  also  deny  before  y 
Heaven."     Oh,  friends,  th^'      ^    ' 
Christ  confessing  you  before        is  C 
Heavon.    A  little  fell-  .  a         little  fellow,  got  up  at 
a  meeting  one  night,  V.    h     .e       rs  running  down  his 
chceks-he  was  a  litth        dte-uaired  Swedish  boy- 
and  said,  "Friends,  if  I   x.ifcss  Jesus  on  earth  down 
her.-  then  will  He  also  confess  me  up  there  before  the 
Father,"  and  sat  down.    That  was  the  best  speech  that 
was  made  that  night      ■       to  think  of  it-to  have  the 
Lord  Jesus  confess  -ame  before  the  Father  m 

Heaven !    In  our  grc^.    Civil  War,  when  one  of  our  gen- 
erals won  a  great  victory,  it  was  the  custom  of  the 
Member  of  Congress  for  his  district  to  propose  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  him  on  the  floor  of  the  American  Congress. 
It  was  the  highest  ambition  of  g'  ncrals  to  be  thus 
mentioned  u^  n  th=-  floor  of  Congr.^s.     I  remember 
that  grand  old  he-.>   General  Howard,  once  saying  to 
me,  "Torre     ther.     -a?  one  proud  day  of  my  life,  and 
that  ^a^  when  a  vote  of  thanks  was  moved  to  me 
^„  4.U.-  fl«o-  ^f  C'^"^r^pas  hv  the  ^hole  Cougress  lor  my 
Btand  at  Gettysburg."    But  what  is  it  to  be  mentioned 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


246 

on  the  floor  of  any  Parliament  or  Congress  down  here 
0  h?ng  mentioned  in  the  court  of  Heaven  by  the  Lord 
Jest  Him^self?    And  the  men  ^^^^^^^^^^Z 
fess  Christ  down  here  m  Mildmay  Hall,  Jesus  t. 

Father,  then  you  will  get  the  fulne.8  »'  ^^''^'"Jj 

rv^:hrvrrro.'r^^s\rJio 

young  man  of  about  ininy  ^"  "      •  amuja  is  one 

L  brought  to  me.    some  one  sa,a  to  ^    Th.  ^  - 
of  the  leading  advocates  "'.Atlanta,    uew 
oratorical  honour,  in  his  ^^^X^^^^Z^ 
'rt^.CS.oHr"L:,-onnot.Christi»r 
S    1!^/ "No  sir    I  am  a  church  member;  m  fact,  I 

Cl^^^r^^  «aid  ..I  have  n^  fe^ng^ 

I  said   "It  is  not  a  question  of  feeling.    Do  )ou  be 
1  earn,    ai  ji  ^     ^         j  ^^^^       j 

lieve  vou  are  a  smner?  tie  sam,  i  tv 
BaTd  "Do  you  believe  Jesus  Christ  died  for  you?  He 
ITa  "I  know  He  did."  I  said,  "Then  will  you  take 
nfm  for  )o"  own  Saviour  to-night?"  He  said,  "Can 
?d"  fihout  feeling?"  I  said,  "Certainly ;  i^  J  not 
a  question  of  feeling,  but  o^  comrnon  «-- /^"j^; 
take  Him?"  He  said,  "I  ^vill ;  if  I  can  I  will.  I  said. 
"Let  us  pray  together."  We  knelt  and  prayed  and 
i^ei  UB  piaj      6  different."    I 

when  we  got  up  he  said,    I  don  t  leei  any  ^^  ^ 

said,  "I  didn't  think  you  would.        But,    he  saia 
lot  of  these  people  say  they  have  such  ]oy.      I  sa^d 
"You  have  not  gone  far  enough;  you  have  to  confess 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 


24r 


your  Lord  publicly  before  the  joy  comes."  Almost 
everybody  had  gone  out  of  the  big  Tabernacle;  but  he 
said  to  the  few  who  were  remaining,  "Friends,  I  have 
decided  to-night  to  be  a  Christian;  I  have  taken  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  my  Saviour,"  and  with  a  few 
more  words  he  said,  "Good-night"  and  went  out.  Next 
morning  a  leading  merchant  of  the  town  came  to  me 
and  said,  "You  ought  to  have  seen  what  I  saw  last 
night  when  I  left  this  building.    I  had  gone  only  a 

short  way  down  the  street  when  I  saw leaning 

up  against  a  lamp-post.  I  knew  he  did  not  dnnk; 
I  knew  he  was  not  intoxicated.  I  went  up  to  him  and 
asked  him  what  was  the  matter  and  why  he  was  shout- 
ing. He  said,  *I  am  so  happy,  I  can  hardly  stand  up.' " 
I  saw  him  that  day,  and  I  told  him  what  my  friend  had 

told  me.    I  said,  "Mr. said  he  saw  you  leaning 

against  a  lamp-post  and  shouting,  and  when  he  asked 
vou  what  wa  the  matter,  you  said  you  were  so  happy 
you  could  not  stand  up.  Is  that  so?"  He  said,  "It 
was  literally  true.  Ten  minutes  after  I  left  you  last 
night,  such  a  joy  came  over  my  soul  that  literally  I 
had  to  lean  against  the  lamp-post  and  shout  for  joy." 

I  don't  know  if  it  will  affect  you  just  that  way;  it 
never  did  me;  but  I  will  guarantee  one  thing— that 
if  you  will  accept  Jesus  Christ  with  all  your  heart 
and  surrender  your  whole  life  to  Him,  and  His  con- 
trol, and  publicly  confess  Him  before  the  world,  God 
will'  send  His  Holy  Spirit  into  your  heart,  filling  it 
with  a  joy  that  you  never  knew  before. 

4.  In  the  fourth  place,  every  man  and  woman  should 
confess  Christ,  because  it  is  the  only  way  to  he  saved. 
In  Romans  x.  9  and  10  we  read  •  "If  thou  shalt  confess 
with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in 


248 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


thine  heart  that  God  hatH  raised  Him  from  the  dead, 
thou  Shalt  be  saved.    For  with  the  heart  man  believeth 
unto  righteousness;   and  with  the  mouth  confession  is 
made  unto  salvation."    People  say  to  me  in  some  places 
where  we  go,  "I  don't  believe  in  this  standing  up  and 
confessing;"  but  I  don't  care  what  you  believe;  the 
question  is,  "What  does  God  say?"     And  God  says, 
"With  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation." 
There  are  a  great  many  people  who  will  tell  you  if  a 
man  or  woman  believe  in  Christ  in  the  secrecy  of  their 
own  hearts  they  need  never  say  anything  about  it,  for 
God  sees  the  heart.    He  does  see  your  heart,  and  if  you 
do  not  confess  Christ.  He  sees  you  have  not  got  any  real 
faith.    You  say,  "!■    'ot  a  man  saved  by  faith?"    Yes, 
but  by  real  faith,  aau  real  faith  always  leads  to  mouth 
confession.     We  read  in  the  very  next  verse  of  this 
chapter,  Romans  x.  11:    "Whosoever  believeth  on  Him 
shall  not  be  ashamed."    If  you  are  ashamed  to  con- 
fess Him  you  do  not  believe  on  Him.    A  faith  that  does 
not  lead  to  confession  will  never  lead  to  Heaven.    There 
will  be  no  sneaks  and  cowards  in  Heaven.    Jesus  Christ 
says  in  Mark  viii.  38:    "Whoso  shall  be  ashamed  of 
Me  and  of  My  words,  of  him  also  shall  the  Son  of  Man 
be  ashamed,  when  He  cometh  in  the  glory  of  His 
Father  with  the  holy  angels." 

5.  Once  more,  every  man  and  woman  should  con- 
fess Christ  for  common  decency's  sake  and  self-respect's 
snl-e.  When  you  and  I  stop  to  think  what  Christ  has 
done  for  us;  how  He  left  Heaven  with  all  its  glory 
and  came  down  to  earth  with  all  its  shame;  how  He 
was  scourged  and  crowned  with  thorns;  how  He  bore 
shame  and  reproach;  how  He  was  spat  upon  and 
buffeted  and  nailed  to  the  Cross  for  you  and  me ;  how, 


ih 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 


249 


although  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  He  became  poor, 
that  we  through  His  poverty  might  become  rich;  how, 
though  being  in  the  form  of  God,  He  thought  it  not 
a  thing  to  be  grasped  to  be  equal  to  God,  but  humbled 
Himself  and  took  upon  Himself  the  form  of  a  .servant, 
and  was  obedient  even  unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the 
Cross;  how  He  was  wounded  for  our  tran-^essions, 
and  bruised  for  our  iniquities— if,  men  and  women, 
knowing  that,  you  will  not  confess  Jesus  Christ  be- 
cause of  the  fear  of  man,  or  fear  of  loss  in  business, 
or  fear  of  loss  of  caste  in  society,  then  you  are  a  cow- 
ard, a  poltroon,  an  ingrate  of  the  basest  and  blackest 
kind.    You  cannot  get  around  it ;  you  know  it  is  God's 
truth.    I  cannot  see  how  any  intelligent  man  or  woman 
can  bear  in  mind  what  Jesus  has  done  for  them,  and 
then  not  confess  Him,  and  still  retain  their  self-re- 
spect. 

We  have  some  things  we  are  proud  of  in  America, 
and  some  things  we  are  ashamed  of.    One  of  the  things 
we  are  proud  of  in  America  is  this,  that  all  boys  and 
girls  in  America  can  get  a  university  education;  that 
the  son  of  the  farmer  and  the  day  labourer  and  the 
washerwoman  can  get  a  university  education  as  well  as 
the  child  of  the  millionaire.    Any  boy  or  girl  that  is 
worth  educating  can  go  through  all  degrees  of  learning 
in  America.  Since  I  have  been  in  Chicago,  the  grandson 
of  a  man  who  used  to  work  for  us  at  home  as  our  gar- 
dener, when  I  was  a  boy,  has  been  the  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Chicago;  and  the  son  of  a  woman  who  used  to  do  the 
cooking  in  our  kitchen  has  occupied  another  high  posi- 
tioji  in  the  city.     I  rejoice  in  it;  it  is  one  of  the 
things  that  make  me  glad  to  be  an  American.     In 
North  Carolina,  one  of  the  poorsr  State*— poor  finan- 


350 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


cvally,  but  rich  in  men— there  was  a  farmer  who  had 
a  bright  boy.    He  had  a  poor  farm,  but  he  said,  "My 
boy  is  going  to  get  just  as  good  an  opportunity  as  a 
millionaire's  son;"  and  that  poor  farmer  worked  and 
scraped  until  he  was  able  to  send  that  boy  to  the  State 
university.     The  boy  did  well,  and  his  letters  home 
delighted  his  father's  and  mother's  hearts,  and  they 
felt  "well  paid  for  all  their  sacrifice.    But  after  awhile 
the  father's  heart  grew  lonely,  and  he  said  to  his  wife, 
"Mother,  I  cannot  stand  it  any  longer;  I  just  must  see 
the  boy."    It  was  a  long  way  from  the  farm  to  the 
university,  and  he  loaded  his  wagon  and  started  on 
his  long  drive,  and  as  he  drew  near  to  the  town  he 
said  to  himself:    "Well,  won't  the  boy  be  surprised  I 
He  don't  know  I'm  coming.    Won't  he  be  delighted  to 
see  his  old  father?"    He  whipped  up  the  old  team  and 
hurried  on,  and  entered  the  town.    He  was  driving  up 
the  hill  to  the  college,  and  as  he  went,  whom  should 
he  see  coming  down  but  his  boy  with  some  gay  college 
companions.    The  old  man  was  driving  slowly,  for  it 
was  up  hill,  but  when  he  saw  the  boy  he  jumped  out 
and  rushed  up  to  him  and  said,  "Oh,  my  boy,  my  son  1" 
The  son  was  ashamed  of  his  poor  old  father,  and  he 
straightened  himself  up  and  said,  "There  must  be  some 
mistake,  sir;  you  are  not  my  father.     I  don't  know 
you."    I  am  told— I  don't  know  it  to  be  positively  true 
— but  I  am  told  that  father  turned  round  with  a  broken 
heart  and  went  home  to  die.    I  can  well  believe  it.    It 
would  break  my  heart  for  my  boy  to  treat  me  that 
way. 

Men  and  women,  what  do  you  say  to  a  boy  liko  that  ? 
I  pay  he  ought  to  be  horsewhipped.  I  say  he  was 
3X1  infamous  ingrate.    But  I  want  to  say  that  he  was 


HEROES  AND  COWARDS 


851 


not  so  infamously  ungrateful  as  you  men  and  women 
in  this  hall  to-night,  who  know  that  Jesus  Christ 
poured  out  His  life  unto  death  on  the  Cross  of  Calvary, 
and  who  are  so  mean  and  contemptible  and  cowardly 
that  you  won't  stand  up  and  confess  Him. 

i  am  not  going  to  stop  with  that  story.    It  is  too 
dark.    I  am  going  to  tell  you  another  story — and  thank 
God  it  is  true — of  our  home  land.     A  poor  woman  in 
one  of  our  towns,  who  had  to  work  for  her  living,  for 
she  was  a  widow — she  took  in  washing,  I  think — had 
a  boy,  and  he  was  a  bright  boy  and  proved  a  bright  man. 
I  think  some  of  you  have  heard  him.    She  sent  her 
boy  to  school.    He  went  through  the  schools,  did  well, 
came  out  at  the  very  top  of  his  class,  and  was  vale- 
dictorian of  his  class,  the  highest  position,  and  took  a 
gold  medal  for  special  excellence  in  study.    The  day 
he  was  to  graduate  he  said  to  his  mother :    **You  know, 
I  graduate  to-day,  mother."    She  said,  'Tes,  I  know." 
"Well,  get  ready,"  he  said,  "it  is  time  to  get  off  to  the 
church" — where  the  graduating  exercises  were  to  be 
held.    "Oh,  my  boy,  I  cannot  go  up  there,"  she  said; 
"I  haven't  anything  fit  to  wear.    Why,  all  the  finest 
people  in   the   town  will  be  there.     You  would  be 
ashamed  of  me  if  I  went."    "Ashamed  of  you,  mother?" 
he  said ;  "never !    I  owe  all  I  have  in  the  world  to  you. 
What  is  more,  mother,  I  cannot  graduate  unless  you 
do  go;  and  I  won't!"    And  he  helped  his  mother  to 
get  ready,  and  pinned  the  old  faded  shawl  round  her, 
and  made  it  look  as  good  as  possible,  and  put  on  her 
plain  old  bonnet,  and  took  her  on  his  arm,  and  walked 
down  the  main  street  with  the  plain  old  mother  on  his 
arm  to  the  church.    When  they  got  there  he  took  her 
up  the  centre  aisle,  and  sat  hor  among  the  finest  people 


252 


REVIVAL  'ADDRESSES 


in  town.  When  the  time  came,  he  went  up  to  deliver 
his  valedictorj  address  and  to  receive  the  gold  medal 
amid  the  applause  of  his  companions;  and  when  he  had 
received  it  he  walked  straight  down  to  where  his  mother 
sat,  and  pinned  it  on  her  old  faded  shawl,  and  said, 
"Mother,  that  belongs  to  you ;  you  earned  it." 

That  is  a  boy  worth  having.  Now,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, I  want  to  ask  a  question:  Do  you  mean  to-night 
to  be  like  that  rascally,  scoundrelly  ingrate,  that  was 
ashamed  of  his  old  father  and  broke  his  heart,  and  be 
ashamed  of  that  glorious  Christ  that  died  for  you;  or 
will  you  he  like  the  other  boy,  and,  knowing  that  you 
owe  everything  to  Jesus  Christ,  stand  up  and  confess 
Him  to-night,  and  pin  all  your  honours  where  th^y 
belong,  on  Jesus  Christ  I 


XVII 


THEEE  FIRES 

"He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire." 
— ^Matthew  iii.  11. 

One  night,  years  ago,  I  was  sitting  at  my  desk  in  my 
study  late  at  night,  and  the  work  of  the  day  was  done. 
There  was  a  great  deal  of  confusion  ahout  my  study 
tahle,  for  I  had  just  moved  that  day,  and  had  not  had 
time  to  rearrange  my  papers.    The  work  of  the  day 
being  done,  I  fell  into  a  reverie,  and  as  I  came  out 
of  that  reverie  I  found  myself  gently  waving  back  and 
forth  in  my  right  hand  a  little  four-page  leaflet.    I  do 
not  know  how  it  got  into  my  hand.    I  suppose  I  took 
it  off  the  table;  but  I  don't  even  know  how  it  got  on 
to  the  table,  for  I  had  never  seen  it  before.    I  looked 
at  that  leaflet,  and  1  noticed  these  words  across  the 
top  of  the  leaflet  in  large  print,  "Wanted,  a  Baptism 
with  Fire."     It  immediately  fastened  my  attention. 
I  said,  "That  is  precisely  what  I  do  want;  if  there  is 
anybody  on  this  earth  that  needs  fire,  it  is  I,"  for  I 
was  born,  and  bad  grown  up  cold  as  an  iceberg.    So  I 
read  the  leaflet.    There  was  not  much  in  the  leaflet 
that  impressed  me,  except  one  text,  "He  shall  baptize 
you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire;"  and  that  not 
only  impressed  me,  it  kept  ringing  in  my  mind  and 
heart,  by  day  and  by  night.    I  could  not  get  away  from 
it:    "He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  fire."    The  following  Saturday  evening,  when  I 

253 


2541 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


went  to  a  little  gathering  for  prayer  held  at  my  church, 
I  said  to  the  janitor  of  the  church,  when  the  prayer 
meeting  was  over.    "The  promise  says,  'He  shall  baptize 
you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.*"    A  sweet 
smile  passed  over  the  janitor's  face,  and  there  was 
something  about  his  look  which  made  me  think,  "Well, 
the  janitor  seems  to  know  all  about  it.    I  wonder  if 
he  has  got  something  his  pastor  has  not  got."    During 
the  days  of  the  next  week,  when  I  sat  down  in  my 
study,  when  I  walked  the  streets,  that  kept  ringing  in 
my  ears :    "He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghosf 
and  with  fire."    Thursday  night  came,  and  at  the  close 
of  my  day's  work  I  knelt  down  before  God,  and  asked 
Him  for  a  text  or  for  a  subject  for  Sunday  evening's 
sermon.    A  brother  from  London  was  going  to  preach 
for  me  in  the  morning.    The  only  text  I  could  see  in 
the  whole  Bible  was,  "He  shall  br?tize  you  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire,"  and  I  _    d,  "Father,  I  am 
not  to  preach  on  Sunday  morning;    that  is  a  Sunday 
morning  text,  and  I  don't  preach  in  the  morning.    Mr. 
Inglis  is  going  to  preach  then."    I  frenerally  preach  in 
tl^e  morning  to  Christians,  and  to  the  unsaved  in  the 
evening.    "I  want  an  evening  text."    But  I  could  not 
see  anything,  but  just  that  one  text,  "He  shall  baptize 
you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."    "Well,"  I 
said,  "Father,  if  that  is  the  text  you  want  me  to  preach 
on.  evening  or  morning,  I  will  preach  on  it;  but  I 
want  to  know."    Just  then  there  came  looming  uj»  out 
of  the  Bible  two  other  texts,  and  both  of  these  texts 
had  "fire"  in  them ;  and  while  I  was  on  my  knees  God 
just  opened  the  three  texts,  and  I  had  my  sermon.    The 
next  Sunday  night  I  went  to  my  church  and  preached 
that  sermon.    When  I  had  finished  it  I  said,  "Now  all 


THREE  FIRES 


255 


the  friends  who  want  to  bo  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Gnost  and  fire  to-night,  and  all  who  want  to  be  saved, 
come  downstairs."  The  rooms  downstairs  were  jammed, 
and  when  all  who  replied  to  the  invitation  had  found 
room,  I  asked  all  who  wanted  to  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  fire  to  go  into  the  kindergarten  room, 
and  those  who  wished  to  be  saved  to  go  into  another 
room,  the  inquiry  room,  and  the  rest  to  stay  where  they 
were.  They  began  to  go  into  both  rooms ;  I  went  into 
the  kindergarten  room,  where  the  people  were  sitting 
in  the  little  bits  of  kindergarten  chairs,  and  so  closely 
packed  that  T  literally  had  to  step  over  their  heads  to 
get  to  the  platform.  Oh,  what  a  time  we  had  in  that 
room  that  night !  When  I  came  out  I  asked  my  assist- 
ant, who  was  in  charge  of  the  inquiry  room,  what  sort 
of  a  time  he  had  had,  and  he  said,  "The  Spirit  of  God 
was  there ;  and  many  people  came  out  into  the  light.'*  I 
asked  Professor  Towner,  the  choir-master,  who  was  left 
in  charge  of  the  third  meeting,  composed  of  those 
who  had  not  entered  either  of  the  two  rooms,  and  He 
said,  **We  had  no  meeting  at  all;  I  could  not  say  a 
word ;  the  people  got  right  down  on  their  knees  before 
Hnd,  and  talked  to  Him."  I  hope  God  will  bless  the 
Word  the  same  way  to-night.    I  believe  He  will. 


I.  The  Baptism  with  Fire 

You  will  find  the  first  of  the  three  fires  in  Matthew 
iii.  11:  "I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  re- 
pentance; but  He  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier 
than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear:  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire." 
That  is  the  first  of  the  three  fires,  the  baptism  with 


MMM 


I\ 


256 


REVIVATi  ADDRESSES 


fire— what  does  it  mean?  Now  we  know  what  it  means 
to  be  baptized  with  water— we  have  seen  that— but  what 
does  it  mean  to  he  baptized  with  fire?  You  will  get 
your  answer  by  asking  two  things:  first,  what  is  fire 
said  to  do  in  the  Bible?  and,  second,  what  happened 
to  the  Apostles  at  Pentecost  when  they  were  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire? 

1.  The  first  thing  that  the  Bible  says  that  fire 
does  is,  iire  reveals.  In  1  Corinthians  iii.  13,  we  read: 
"Every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest;  for  the  day 
shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by  fire." 
And  the  first  thing  that  a  baptism  with  fire  docs  is  to 
reveal  what  a  man  really  is,  to  show  us  to  ourselves  as 
God  sees  us.  I  remember  the  night  before  I  preached 
that  sermon,  late  on  Saturday  night  after  the  sermon 
was  all  arranfiod,  I  got  down  and  said,  "Heavenly 
Father,  I  think  T  have  a  sermon  for  to-morrow  night, 
but  I  don't  believe  I  have  got  that  of  which  the  ser- 
mon speaks.  I  am  going  to  preach  on  the  baptism  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire,  and  how  can  I  preach  on  it 
if  I  have  not  had  it?  Now,  in  order  that  I  may  preach 
an  honest  sermon,  baptize  me  with  fire  right  now." 
God  heard  the  prayer,  and  the  first  thing  that  came 
to  pa?3  wa.s  that  I  had  such  a  revelation  of  myself  as  I 
never  had  before  in  all  my  life.  I  bad  never  dreamed 
that  there  was  so  much  pride,  so  much  vanity,  so  much 
personal  ambition,  so  much  downright  meanness  in  my 
heart  and  life  as  I  saw  that  night.  And  men  and 
women,  if  you  get  a  baptism  with  fire,  I  believe  one  of 
tlie  first  things  that  comes  to  you  will  be  a  revelation 
of  yourself  as  God  sees  you.  Is  not  that  just  what  we 
need,  a  revelation  of  ourselves  to-day  that  will  spare 
us  the  awful  humiliation  of  the  revelation  of  self  in 


THREE  FIKES 


257 


that  day  when  we  stand  before  the  judgment  scat  of 

Christ? 

2.    The  second  thing  that  fire  does  is,  f,re  refines,  or 
purifies.    In  Alalachi  iii,  1-3,  we  are  told  of  the  purify- 
ing power  of  fire.    There  is  nothing  that  purifies  like 
fire.    Water  will  not  cleanse  as  fire  docs.    Suppose  I 
have  a  piece  of  gold,  and  there  is  some  filth  on  the 
outside  of  it;  how  can  I  get  it  off?    I  can  wash  it  off 
with  water.    But  suppose  the  filth  is  inside  it,  how  will 
you  get  if  out?    There  is  only  one  way:  throw  it  into 
the  fire.    And,  men  and  women,  if  the  filth  is  on  the 
outside  it  can  be  washed  away  with  the  water  of  the 
Word ;  but  the  trouble  is  that  the  filth  is  on  the  inside, 
and  what  we  need  is  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost  pene- 
trating into  the  innermost  depths  of  our  being,  burn- 
ing, burning,  burning,  cleansing.    What  a  refining  came 
to  the  apostles  on  the  day  of  Pentecost !    How  full  of 
self-seeking  they  had  been  up  to  the  very  last  Supper ! 
At  the  Last  Supper,  they  had  a  dispute  as  to  who  should 
be  the  first  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  after  Pen- 
tecost they  no  longer  thought  of  self,  but  of  Christ. 
How  weak  and  cowardly  they  had  been  right  up  to  the 
crucifixion !    They  all  forsook  Him  and  fled,  and  Peter 
denied  Him,  at  the  accusation  of  a  servant  maid,  with 
oaths  and  curses.    But  after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  that 
same  Peter  that  cursed  and  swore  and  denied  Christ 
when  the  servant  maid  accused  him  of  being  a  follower 
of  Jesus,  faced  the  very  council  that  condemned  Him, 
and  said,  "If  we  this  day  be  examined  of  the  good  deed 
done  to  the  impotent  man,  by  what  means  he  is  made 
whole,  be  it  known  unto  you  all,  and  to  all  the  people 
of  Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth, 
whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead^ 


258 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


even  by  Him  doth  this  man  stand  here  before  yoa 
whole."  Ah,  friends,  cleansing  is  a  very  slow  process 
by  ordinary  methods,  but  a  baptism  with  fire  does 
marvels  in  a  moment. 

3.  Tn  the  third  place,  the  Bible  teaches  ns  that  /rrc 
consumes.  In  Ezekiel  xxiv.  11-13,  we  are  told  of  the 
consuming  power  of  fire,  the  fire  of  judgment  that  will 
consu:Tic  tlie  filth  and  dross  of  Jerusalem.  And  the  bap- 
tism of  fire  consumes,  in  fact  it  cleanses  by  consuming; 
it  bums  up  all  dross,  all  vanity,  all  self-righteousness, 
all  personal  ambition,  all  ungovernable  temper. 

We  had  onco  at  the  Bible  Institute  in  Chicago,  a 
young  woman  who  was  much  that  a  Christian  should 
not  bo.    Whon  wc  hoard  she  was  coming,  all  of  us  in 
authority  tliought  she  never  ought  to  have  come  to  the 
Bible  Institute.     T  thought  so  when  I  heard  she  was 
coming,  for  I  had  known  her  in  the  school  from  which 
she  came,  and  I  knew  she  was  one  of  the  most  un- 
manageable scholars  they  ever  had  in  the  school.    She 
was  stubborn,  wilful,  proud,  quick-tempered,  boisterous, 
loud,  and  pretty  much  everything  a  giri  ought  not  to 
he.    Whon  I  heard  she  was  coming  to  the  Bihlc  Institute, 
I  said,  "So-and-so  coming  to  the  Bible  Institute !    What 
in  the  worid  does  she  want  at  the  Bible  Institute?" 
But  her  uncle  was  one  of  the  best  friends  the  Institute 
ever  had,  and  so,  out  of  consideration  for  her  uncle, 
we  admitted  her.     Now,  we  require  of  every  student 
in  that  Bible  Institute  that  some  definite  work  to  save 
the  lost  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  Bible  ptudy;  for 
Bible  study,  unless  it  is  accompanied  with  actual  work 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  will  dry  up  a  man's  soul 
quicker  than  almost  anything  else.    We  required  the 
young  woman  to  go  into  the  tenements,  the  homes  of 


'"•'-"-- 


THREE  FIRES 


259 


the  poor  and  the  outcast.    One  afternoon  tliis  girl  had 
been  visiting  in  Milton  Avenue  and  Townsend  Street, 
two  of  the  poorest  streets  of  Chicago.     After  a  time 
she  became  very  tired  with  climbing  up  and  down  the 
stairs,  and  going  in  and  out  of  the  filthy  homes;  and 
instead  of  returning  to  the  Institute,  she  walked  on 
in  a  very    r^el'lous  frame  of  mind,  and  went  down  to 
the  Lake     hor^,.  Di>e,  the  finest  avenue  in  Chicago, 
along  the  s v  v-  ^^f  tho  lake.    As  she  passed  by  those 
magnificent    ,  n^n.;  there,  she  looked  up  at  them  witU 
an  eye  thai  uUi     .'  with  pleasure,  and  said,  "This  is 
what  I  like.    I  have  had  enough  of  Milton  Avenue;  I 
have  had  enough  of  climbing  stairs  and  going  into 
tenements.     This  is  what  I  like,  and  this  is  what  I 
am  going  to  have."    She  came  back  to  the  Institute, 
and  went  straight  to  her  room,  still  in  a  very  bitter  and 
rebellious  frame  of  mind.    The  tea-bell  rang  before  the 
battle  was  over,  and  she  went  to  the  table  and  took  her 
place,  and  sat  down,  and  there  at  the  tea-table  the  fire 
of  God  fell  right  where  that  girl  was  sitting.     She 
sprang  from  her  seat  and  rushed  over  to  a  friend  at 
another  table,  and  threw  her  arms  around  her,  and  ex- 
claimed, "I  am  a  volunteer  for  Africa!"  and  the  fire 
of  God  in  a  moment  burned,  and  burned,  and  burned, 
until  that  young  woman  was  so  changed,  her  actions 
were  so  changed,  her  views  of  life,  her  tastes,  her  am- 
bitions, her  very  face  was  so  changed  in  a  moment,  that 
when  her  old  friends  saw  her  and  heard  her  they  could 
hardly  believe  their  own  eyes  and  ears.    Later  on  she 
went  back  to  that  same  school  down  in  Massachusetts, 
^hcrc  she  had  been  such  a  hindrance,  and  with  burning 
words  poured  out  her  heart  to  the  girls  there,  and 


860 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


with  mighty  power  led  them  to  the  Lamh  of  God  which 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Ib  not  that  what  we  need  to-night,  a  fire  that  will 
bum  up  this  pride  of  ours,  this  selfishness  of  ours,  this 
vanity  of  ours,  this  worldliness  of  ours,  burn  up  all  these 
things  that  hinder  the  world  from  coming  to  Christ, 
because  we  make  men  think  that  Christianity  is  unreal? 
You  women  with  unconverted  husbands,  is  not  that 
what  you  need,  a  baptism  with  fire,  transforming  your 
life  and  clothing  it  with  beauty,  so  that  your  husbands 
will  say,  "I  must  have  what  my  wife  has  got?" 

4.  In  the  next  place,  fire  illuminates.  Oftentimes 
when  in  Chicago  I  look  off  towards  the  north-west  of 
the  city,  suddenly  I  sec  the  heavens  lit  up  and  then 
grow  dark  again,  then  they  are  illuminated  once  more 
and  then  darkened.  The  great  foundry  doors  had  been 
opened  and  shut,  and  opened  and  shut,  and  this  light 
in  the  heavens  was  the  glow  from  the  furnaces.  Fire 
illuminatop,  but  no  fire  illuminates  like  "the  baptism 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire."  When  a  man  is  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire,  truth  that  was  dark  to 
him  before  becomes  instantly  as  bright  as  day;  pas- 
sages in  the  Bible  that  he  could  not  understand  before 
bocome  as  simple  as  A  B  C,  and  every  page  of  God's 
Holy  Word  glows  with  heavenly  light.  A  baptism  with 
fire  will  do  more  to  take  the  infidelity  and  scepticism 
and  false  doctrine  out  of  a  man  than  any  university 
education.  How  many  a  young  fellow  cornos  out  of  a 
theological  education  more  than  half  an  infidel,  but  the 
great  day  comet*  when  that  half-infidi'l  preacher  is  bap- 
tized with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire,  and  his  doubt.s 
and  his  questionings  and  his  criticisms  go  to  the  winds. 
^ow  many  an  untaught  or  half-taught  man  has  so 


THREE  FIRES 


261 


wonderful  an  acquaintance  with  the  truth  of  God  that 
men  who  arc  acholars  sit  at  his  feet  with  profound 
astonishment,  because  he  has  been  illuminated  with  the 
baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire  I 

Take  the  case  of  this  girl  again.    I  was  away  when 
the  event  I  described  happened,  and  the  first  thing 
I  heard  when  I  returned  was  wliat  had  taken  place  with 
her.    I  was  going  from  the  men's  side  of  the  institute, 
and  was  passing  between  the  church  and  the  women's 
department  when  this  young  girl  turned  into  the  gate 
and  met  me.    She  looked  up  into  my  face,  and  said, 
"Oh,  Professor  Torrcy,  have  you  heard?"    "Yes,  Jack, 
I  have  heard,"  I  said,  and,  by  the  way,  that  is  an  indi- 
cation of  her  character  that  she  should  be  called  Jack; 
"I  have  heard  what  has  happened,"  and  then  she  just 
began  to  pour  out  her  soul.    She  fairly  danced  on  tho 
side-walk  as  she  told  me,  and  I  knew  for  once  what  it 
meant  to  dance  before  the  Lord !  Then  she  closed  about 
this  wav :    "One  of  the  best  things  about  it  is  that  the 
Bible  is  a  new  book.    The  Bible  used  to  be  just  the 
stupidest  book  I  ever  read,  and  I  didn't  believe  it  was 
the  Word  of  God  at  all.    I  did  believe  in  the  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ,  because  your  lectures  compelled  me.    But 
the  Bible  was  a  stupid  book.    But  oh,  now  God  is  show- 
ing me  euch  wonderful  things  in  the  Bible." 

Now  be  hontst.  Arc  there  not  some  of  you  to-night 
that  profess  to  be  Christians,  to  whom  the  Bible  is  a 
slupid  book?  If  you  would  tell  the  honest  truth,  would 
you  not  rather  read  a  novel  than  the  Bible?  You  do 
read  tho  Bible,  because  you  think  you  ought  to:  but 
you  got  no  enjoyment  out  of  it.  What  you  nocd  is  a 
baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire,  and  that  woiild 


263 


REVIVAL  'ADDRESSES 


make  th«  Bible  a  new  book;  gloiy  would  shint  from 
every  page. 

5.  The  next  thing  that  fire  does  is,  /!re  makes  warm, 
it  makes  to  glow.  You  stand  before  «  furnace  door, 
behind  which  is  a  glowing  fire.  You  have  in  your  hand 
a  bar  of  iron ;  it  is  cold,  and  black,  and  forbidding,  and 
there  is  no  beauty  in  it.  But  you  take  that  coJd,  dark, 
forbidding  bar  of  iron,  and  you  open  the  furaace  door 
and  thrust  it  into  the  glowing  fire.  Soon  it  is  warm, 
then  it  becomes  red  hot  and  glows  with  marvellous 
beauty,  and  you  have  the  cold  bar  of  iron  glowing  with 
fire.  You  and  I  are  cold— oh,  how  cold  we  are  I  and 
the  Lord  Jesus  takes  us  and  He  plunges  us  into  the  fire 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  begin  to  grow  warm,  and 
soon  we  glow,  glow  with  love  to  God,  glow  with  inve 
to  Clu-ist,  glow  with  love  to  the  truth,  glow  with  love 
for  perishing  souls.  Men  and  women,  the  great  need 
of  the  day  is  men  and  women  on  fire.  Brethren,  that 
is  whM  wc  need  ir  the  pulpit,  ministers  on  fire.  What 
cold  men  most  of  us  preachers  are!  Orthodox  enough, 
it  may  be,  and  we  present  the  most  solemn  truth  with 
great  force  of  reason  and  great  beauty  of  rhetoric  and 
most  convincing  eloquence;  and  our  audiences  sit  there 
iind  admire  our  strong  preaching,  but  they  do  not  re- 
pent of  their  sins.  Why  not?  Because  we  are  not  on 
lire.  We  convince  the  intellect,  but  we  do  not  melt 
llie  Ijeart.  But  put  a  minister  who  is  on  fire  in  the 
pulpit.  Wesley  was  nuch  a  man,  Whitefield  was  such 
a  man;  Charles  G.  Finney  was  such  a  man — put  a 
man  on  fire  in  Ihe  pulpit,  and  the  audience  will  meU. 
But  we  need  that  kind  of  people  in  the  choir  as  well. 
Whiit  beautiful  choirs  we  have  nowadays.    Why,  they 


THREE  FIRKS 


9«S 


sii^  dmost  Mc  aagels,  and  people  sit  there 
them,  but  aobodv  is  converted  by  their  singing.    But 
wliee  «  get  a  man  on  fire  to  sing,  or  a  woman  on 
fiw  t»  sing,  or  a  choir  on  fire  to  sing,  ^methmg  is 
|»ro^kt  to  pass.    That  is  what  we  need  in  our  Sunday 
S,^»«d  cl.^8.     We   set   a  young  man   or  a  young 
wean  to  teach  a  Sunday  School  class,  and  they  know 
the  les^  capitally  an^  study  all  the  lat.^   ^elpa^ 
and  ma^e  the  lesson  tremendously  interesting,  but  the 
bovs  aad  girls  and  men  and  women  in  t)»eir  classes  arc 
not  converted,  becaus.  the  teachers  are  aot  on  fire.    Oli, 
men  and  women  of  London,  the  need  in  London  more 
than  anything  else  to-night  is  a  baptism  with  fire  on 
,ho  mim«t^,  a  baptism  with   fire  on   the  elders    a 
baptism  with  fire  on  the  deacons,  a  baptism  with  firo 
on  the  choir,  a  bapti^  with  fire  on  the  Sunday  School 
tracher?,  a  baptwrn  with  fire  on    the    personal    work- 
m   8»i  a  liaptism  with  fire  upon  the  men  and  women 
in  the  t-oniFregation.    We  sang  a  hymn  ju<t  now,  pray- 
ing that  the  firp  of  God  miglit   fall  m  Mildmay  Con- 
ference IWl  to-nignr.    If  it  doos,  men  and  women,  if 
it  doep.  London  will  be  r^haken. 

6.  The  next  thing  that  fim  does  i«,  ^re  imparts  en- 
ergy The  men  of  ^»wnce  tell  us  tliat  every  form  of 
rncrgv  can  be  transmuted  into  fire,  mi  tiat  given  fire 
you  can  generate  anv  form  of  force  or  energy.  When 
a  baptism  with  fin  comes  then  cntmes  power.  That 
was  the  principal  manifestation  at  Pentecost.  The 
fire  of  God  fell,  and  with  th.  enorg>'  of  that  fire  men 
uont  out  from  that  uf-iK-r  room,  and  3,000  people  were 
rnnvorted.  A  man  tak.>  .-no  to  his  faH^ry.  He  ^y^ 
"T\m  machinery  is  the  best  m  the  world."    He  takes 


264 


BETIVAL  ADDRESSES 


me  dflwn  into  the  eagiae-room,  and  says,  '^Look  at 
that  great  engine,  it  is  so  many  horee-power,  and  there 
ig  power  in  that  engine  to  move  ever}'  wheel  in  this 
great  factory."  Then  I  fo  back  to  tb*  factory  aad  I 
look  around.  There  is  noiiiting  doing  at  all.  "It  is  very 
strange "  I  wy ;  "did  yon  i»t  tell  me  that  this  wm  the 
bes^  madwa^ry  in  tlie  woft-f^  for  thie  purpose,  and  that 
that  esfine  dowa^airs  cotfifl  move  ever}-  wheel  in  tb«* 
factor^'t  Well,  i  .*>tice  tfap  eon^aeetions  are  all  made, 
and  ever«fftHng  is  sA  gear,  and  the  lever  is  carried  the 
right  w»»  mi  there  js  aot  a  wheel  moving  in  all  the 
factory.  \Vliat  is  tH<»  matter 'r""  "Don't  you  know?" 
i»e  iftyi!.  ""Come  dowiu«ta»r?,  a«id  I  will  show  you," 
«6#f  he  take?  m*-  down  agawi  o  the  engine-room  to  the 
exi^/m,  and  h-  throws  open  th*  door  and  says,  "Look  in 
there."  Aid  io'  th«'re  is  no  flro  in  t!ip  fire-box.  I  go 
off  to  tliP  railway.  There  i^  a  groat  engine  standing  on 
the  rail?,  md  I  am  told  it  n»  the  finest  engine  that  was 
ever  turned  out  from  the  locomotive  works.  It  can 
drag  a  heavily  freighted  train  up  a  hundred-foot  grade. 
Tlic  engine  has  been  coupled  on  to  about  half-a-dozen 
unloaded  care.  I  look  at  the  engine  and  say,  "What 
did  you  tell  mc?  Can  it  draw  a  heavily  loaded  train 
up  a  hundred-foot  grade?  Then  will  you  please  ex- 
plain something  to  me?  That  engine  has  only  six 
empty  cars  behind  it,  the  coupling  is  made,  the  throttle 
is  open,  and  yet  it  is  not  moving,  and  cannot  pull  a 
car,  and  yet  you  say  it  can  pull  a  hundred.  Wbat  is 
the  matter?"  I  am  taken  on  to  the  engine,  and  the 
door  of  the  furnace  is  thrown  open,  and  when  I  look 
in  I  see  there  is  no  fire  in  the  fire-box.  That  is  what 
is  the  matter. 


THREE  FIEES 


2G5 


Friends,  I  go  into  churches  to-day,  and  oh,  what 
beautiful  organization  I  see,  what  magnificent  archi- 
tecture, what  eloquent  preaching  I  hear,  what  mar- 
vellous singing!  And  yet  not  a  wheel  in  the  whole 
institution  moving  for  God.  What  is  the  matter? 
There  is  no  fire  in  the  tire-box.  What  we  need  to- 
day is  the  lire  of  God  in  the  fire-box,  and  thank  God 
the  promipe  is  "He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 

Ghost  and  fire." 

7.  One   thing   more  about   this   fire— /ire  spreads; 
nothing  spreads  like  fire.    I  remember  hearing  some 
yews  ago,  before  I  went  to  live  in  Chicago,  about  an 
old  Irishwoman,  who  had  a  little  shanty  in  the  city, 
with  a  little  shed  back  of  it,  in  which  she  kept  a  cow. 
And  one  night  she  was  milking  her  cow,  and  the  cow 
suddenly  kicked  ana  knocked  over  her  lantern.     The 
lantern  fell  on  a  wisp  of  straw,  which  caught  fire,  and 
set  the  shed  afire.    The  shed  set  the  shaniy  afire,  and 
tlie  shanty  next  to  it  caught  fire,  and  the  shanty  next 
to  that,  and  the  one  no.xt  to  tiiat,  and  soon  the  fire 
leaped  over  the  aouth  branch  of  the  Chicago  river  to 
the  east  side,  and  on  and  on  it  swept,  and  in  forty- 
eight  hours  it  had  cleared  an  area  of  one  mile  wide  and 
three  miles  feng.  and  iheiv  were  but  two  buildings  left 
in  all  that  uection  ot  Chicago.     Fire  .-preaiis.     Tf  a 
fire  is  kindled  here  to-night  it  will  sweep  all  over  Lon- 
don, and  all  over  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland. 

That  night  I  spoke  of  at  the  beginning  of  my  ser- 
mon, we  had  a  stranger  from  Ix)n.lon  in  Chicago,  who 
came  to  hear  me  preach.  Ho  came  downstairs  in  re- 
sponse to  my  invitation,  and  he  told  us,  "I  am  just  in 
Chicago  to-day  from  London,  and  I  want  this  baptism 


'^:^ 


266 


REVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


of  fire;"  and  he  got  it.  When  he  left  the  church  he 
went  to  his  room,  and  sat  down  and  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  Bible  class  of  which  he  was  a  member  in  London. 
The  teacher  read  it  to  the  class,  and  the  fire  of  God 
came  into  that  class,  and  in  about  two  weeks  after  he 
had  sent  the  letter  he  got  word  from  London  that  tho 
fire  which  fell  in  Chicago  had  been  kindled  in  that 
church  in  London.  Nothing  spreads  like  fire.  Do  we 
not  need  the  baptism  with  this  fire  to-night? 

II.    T«E  Fire  of  Judgmext  that  will  tby  the 
Believer's  Works. 


The  second  fire  you  will  find  in  1  Corinthians  iii.  13, 
15:  ''Every  man's  vork  shall  be  made  manifest:  for 
the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by 
fire;  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of  whut 
sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  shall  be  burned,  he  shall 
sillier  loss:  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved;  yet  so  as  by 
fire."  This  second  fire  is  the  fire  of  judjjment,  testing 
our  works  at  the  jud(:;ment  seat  of  Christ.  Now  you 
notice  the  judgment  here  is  not  the  judgment  regarding 
our  salvation.  These  are  savt'd  {>oople  whose  works  are 
liurTit  up.  All  the-  work  we  do  lor  Christ  is  to  be  put 
to  the  test,  is  to  be  put  to  the  severest  kind  of  test,  the 
fire  test :  and.  friends,  there  is  a  great  deal  the  Church 
of  Christ  is  doing  professedly  for  Christ,  smd  a  greut 
deal  individual  Christians  are  doing,  that  will  never 
stand  the  fire  t»st.  Do  you  think  that  ilit'se  church  fairs 
and  bazaars  and  all  that  sort  of  tomfoolery  by  which 
the  Church  of  Christ  is  brought  down  to  the  level  of  the 
dime  museum,  into  which  so  nuiny  professed  Cliristians 
are  putting  their  best  oncrgif.-.,  d«  you  think  that  these 


THREE  FIRES 


267 


wiU  stand  tHe  fire  lest?  Never  I  they  will  all  go  up 
in  smoke.  You  may  be  saved,  but  you  will  lose  your 
reward.  You  will  be  saved  so  as  by  fire.  A  great  deal 
of  work  that  is  good,  but  that  is  done  not  to  God's 
glory  but  for  personal  ambition— the  good  sermon,  per- 
fectly orthodox,  severely  logical,  beautifully  rhetorical, 
the  sermon  that  even  good  people  applaud,  but  that  is 
preached  not  that  God  may  be  glorified  in  the  sal- 
vation of  sinners,  but  that  the  preacher  may  be  ap- 
plauded. Do  you  think  that  will  stand  the  fire  test? 
Xever!  it  will  go  up  in  smoke.  The  beautiful  solos 
sung,  the  philanthropic  work  done,  the  personal  soul- 
saving  work  done,  not  for  God's  glory  but  for  the  exalta- 
tion of  self— will  these  stand  the  fire  test  ?  Never !  they 
will  all  go  up  in  smoke. 

On  the  night  of  which  I  have  been  speaking  in  my 
church,  the  two  leading  singers  went  down  into  that 
second  meeting,  and  the  leading  soprano  said— a  beauti- 
ful singer,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  singers  I  have 
ever  heard,  "I  never  thought  of  it  before.  I  don't  believe 
I  have  sung  a  solo  in  my  life  for  God.  I  sang  it  for 
self."  Thank  God  the  fire  of  God  came  upon  my  lead- 
in?  soprano  and  my  leading  contralto,  and  I  lost  them 
l)oth.  for  they  became  missionaries.  I  would  like  to 
lose  the  whok  choir,  if  I  could  lose  them  in  the  same 

wiy! 

JFurthermore,  let  me  say,  good  wcrk,  work  done  for 
ft  good  purpose,  but  done  in  our  own  sfr  ngth  and  not 
done  hi  the  power  of  the  Huly  Gho^t,  nill  not  stand 
tk^  fere  test.  The  sermon  preacli  ■  i  t<-  glorify  God,  but 
jHwefaed  with  the  enticing  words  of  titan's  wisdom  and 
not  m  iemMistration  of  the  spirit  and  power  of  God, 


268 


EEVIVAL  ADDRESSES 


will  it  stand  the  fire  test?  Never  I  So,  men  and  women, 
our  work  is  to  be  tried  regarding  its  character,  regard* 
ing  its  motive,  regarding  its  power  in  which  it  is  done. 
Will  your  work  stand  the  fire? 

III.    The  Fire  of  Etebnal  Doom. 

We  come  now  to  the  third  fire.  We  read  of  it  in  2 
Thessalonians  i,  7-9:  "The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  re- 
vealed from  Heaven  with  His  mighty  angels,  in  flaming 
fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and 
that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
His  power."  The  third  Sre  is  the  Hre  of  eternal  doom. 
Every  one  of  us  must  meet  God  in  fire  somewhere. 
Some  of  us,  I  hope,  lo-night  will  meet  Him  in  the  fire 
of  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire;  some  of  us, 
I  know,  will  meet  Him  in  that  great  judgment  day, 
when  the  fire  will  try  our  work,  ci  what  sort  it  is; 
and  oh,  friends,  some  of  us,  I  fear — God  grant  it  may  be 
very  few — may  meet  Him  in  the  fire  of  eternal  dooni. 
Some  one  says,  "Do  you  think  it  is  literal  fire?"  I 
will  not  stop  to  discuss  that.  Take  it  as  a  figure  if  you 
will,  but  remember  that  figures  always  stand  for  facts. 
Some  people,  if  they  find  anyihiag  in  the  Bibl>  that 
they  do  not  like,  say  "It  is  figurative,"  aiid  they  think 
that  has  swept  it  all  away.  Remember,  who  uses  the 
figures;  they  are  God's  figures;  and  Cod's  figures  stand 
for  facts,  and  God  is  not  a  liar,  so  God's  figures  never 
overstate  the  facts  they  represent.  And  how  terriWe 
must  be  the  mental  and  spiritual  agony  described  by 


illBi 


THREE  FIRES 


269 


that  figure,  if  figure  it  be!  Were  you  ever  severely 
burnt?  Did  you  ever  see  any  one  severely  burnt?  I 
have  been.  And  how  awful  must  be  the  spiritual  or 
physical  agony,  whichever  it  is,  that  is  represented  by 
such  a  terrible  figure  as  this. 

The  superficial  thinker  says,  "Oh,  I  cannot  believe 
that;  I  cannot  believe  that  a  merciful  God  is  going 
to  let  men  go  on  suffering  day  after  day,  week  after 
week,  month  after  month,  and  year  after  year,  with 
no  hope."  Open  your  eyes.  Look  at  what  is  going  on 
right  around  you  in  London.  la  not  God  permitting 
men  and  women  who  sin,  especially  in  certain  specific 
forms  of  sin,  to  suffer  most  awful  agonies  day  after  day, 
month  after  month,  year  after  year,  without  one  hope 
of  relief  unless  they  repent ;  and  when  the  time  of  pos- 
sible repentance  is  passed — and  it  must  pass  some  time 
— when  the  time  of  possible  repentance  is  passed,  and 
this  goes  on  and  on  and  on,  ever  worse  and  worse, 
what  have  you  got  but  hell?  You  don't  get  rid  of  hell 
by  getting  rid  of  the  Bible,  or  bv  getting  rid  of  God , 
hell  is  here;  hell  is  a  fact  in  London  to-night.  The 
only  change  the  Bible  and  God  make  is  that  they  open 
a  door  of  hope,  and  when  you  banish  God  and  the  Bible 
the  onlr  change  you  make  ip  -ha*  you  shut  ihe  only  door 
of  hope.  The  inHdels  are  guilty  of  tho  amazing  folly  of 
trying  to  dose  hell  by  shutting  the  only  door  of  hope. 
Hell  is  here.  It  is  a  present  day  fact,  and  unless  there 
is  repentance  and  acceptance  of  Christ  it  will  be  an 
eternal  and  endless  fact.  You  say,  "For  whom?"  Lis- 
ten: '^ndering  vengeance  to  them  that  know  not  dod, 
and  to  them  that  obey  not  the  Gospel." 

First,  "to  them  that  know  not  God."    That  is  plain 


"sX,    #*■ 


REVIVAL  ■ADDBESSEa 


*'"  '"7     Do  yott  too"  "l«t  ""T^^i 

Engli*  for  .gno8t.cs.    ^J™        „„d  of  .ajmg.  "I 
.9    A  crcat  many  people  are  r  ^„  „ 

am  an  agno.uc.      "  .  '  ^  „{  those  who    any  " 
..too*  nothing";  't  "J^^rill  icEder  wngeance  to 
0„a.-    So  out  text  s.,.  Godm  .^t  >.  j  j 

.gnostics.   Some  one  says^  T^        ^ou  ««jM Jo  know 
help  that -.it  is  a  fa'-  ^„  ,  "„ot  toowing  God.    The 
cod';  you  have  no  cx^^  j»'  »°^  „,^  „„  i,  to  find 
most  solemn  duty  that  lies     V  ^„,  (;„a.    The 

r,  ahout  God,  and  the«  «  aj«y  ^^^ 

noSr^^sr^S---^.; 

reasonable  ^y.  ^^^^tl'said,  "Will  you  try  it?"  and 
end  he  said,  ")'\J^%,  agnosticism  is  not  his  mis- 
he  said,  "No,  I  won  t.  His  ^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ,^1^ 
fortune;  it  is  V.is  s  n.    The  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^„t^,^ 

agnostics.  .      v„*  «to  them  that  oIh 

"^ut  not  only  to  •'inost.^.^"  ;,,  v 

not  the  Gospel."   f  "^  '  ^^^'e  .re  m«.y  of  y 
te  doe.  not  obey  *»  ^^^^^j  i  «,  about  aguosfcs 

h,,t  you  do  not  obey  the  w  ^     .  ,^  sortendet  to  i 

confidence  in  the  I«Td  JeMB  ^ 


THREE  FIEES. 


271 


tic" 
."I 


"  or 

not 
ce  to 
innot 
know 

The 
0  find 
The 
rnostic 
d  with 
honest 

.  an  8g- 
icism,  a 
mable?" 
it?"  and 
his  mis- 
mn  obli- 
worship 
)d,  and  if 
ill  be  re- 
md  other 

that  obey 
Qostic,  but 
iny  or  you 
gnosticism, 
not  believe 
ader  to  and 
do  not  obey 


JesuB  Christ  as  your  Lord  and  Master.  You  do  not 
openly  confess  Him  as  the  Gospel  commands.  He  will 
render  vengeance  to  you;  you  shall  be  "punished  with 
everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
and  from  the  glory  of  His  power." 

Men  and  women,  every  one  of  us  must  meet  God  in 
fire.  Oh,  to-night  do  you  not  want  to  meet  Him  in  the 
glorious  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  refining  you  from  sin, 
cleansing  the  dross  and  filth,  illuminating  you  with 
God's  glorious  truth,  warming  the  cold  heart  until  it 
glows  with  holy  love,  energising  you  with  the  power  of 
God,  and  spreading  wherever  it  goes?  Or  do  you  wish 
to  meet  God  in  fire  at  that  judgment  day,  that  will 
try  your  work  as  to  character,  motive,  the  power  that 
wrought  it,  and  send  all  your  works  up  in  smoke,  and 
leave  you  there  stripped,  saved  "so  as  by  fire?"  Or 
will  you  meet  God  in  that  awful  fire  of  eternal  doom, 
when  the  day  comes  that  the  same  Christ  whom  you 
have  rejected  and  trampled  under  foot  comes  back 
again  in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  with  His  mighty 
angels,  "rendering  vengeance  to  them  that  know  not 
God  and  obey  not  the  Gospel?" 


THS  INDl 


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III  1-8 

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C.  A.  JOHNSTON  ROSS. 

The  God  We  Trust 

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HUGH  BLACK,  M.  A. 

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The  Sermon :  Its  Construction  and  Delivery 

Janus  Sprunt  Lectures.    8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

"The  whole  effect  of  the  book  is  a  stimulus  to  faith.  Min- 
isters and  theological  students  will  be  tremendously  invigor- 
ated as  thejr  faa  these  lectures;  they  will  surely  get  a  fresh 
taste  for  the  work  of  proclaiming  the  Gospel.  Incisive, 
trenchant  and  epigrammatic  statements,  of  the  unforgettable 
kind,  abound.  Apt  quotations  and  telling  illustrations  are 
cjvistantly  in  evidence.  And  yet  the  book  impresses  us  as  a 
most  original  and  in  many  respects  a  unique  treatment  of 
this   much   discussed   subject." — Christian  IntilKginctr. 

W.  J.   McGLOTHLIN 

A  Vital  Ministry 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

A  book  on  the  vital  things  in  the  life  of  a  minister..  Frank- 
ly modern  in  its  viewpoint  it  yet  presents  in  unmistakable 
terms  the  never-changing  spiritual  realities  of  the  Christian 
faith.  The  author  lays  on  the  heart  of  the  reader  the  need 
for  entering  fully  into  the  life  of  men  to-day  >f.  the  influ- 
•noe  sought  is  to  be  obtained.  Pastors  will  find  this  book  S 
vitaliaiiia  influence  ia  theif  lives. 

fETER  JINSLIE  Author  of'God  and  Me" 

The  Message  of  the  Discir;les  for  the 
Union  of  the  Church 

Including  Their  Origin  and  History.  i2mo,  cloth, 
net  $1.00.  ^  .  . 

Ihe  author  is  president  of  the  Commission  on  Christian 
Union  of  the  Disciples  Church  and  these  lectures  delivered 
before  the  Yale  Divinity  School  with  unusual  success  are  an 
interpretation  of  the  message,  origin  and  history  of  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ. 

CHARLES  F.    THWING.  LLP. 

The  Working  Church 

New  Edition.    i6mo,  cloth,  net  60c. 

A  practical  handbook  of  methods  of  church  work  helpful 
to  the  average  pastor.  The  nuted  author,  a  leader  in  the 
Congregational  world,  speaks  from  out  the  long  experience  of 
a  notably  successful  pastor. 

ERNEST  E.  ELLIOTT 

Making  Good  in  the  Local  Church 

iftno,  boards,  net  35c. 

An  inspiring  and  practical  little  handbook  on  "how  t« 
make  good  in  religious  work,"  suited  to  all  Denominations. 
Pastors  everywhere  will  welcome  it  as  a  real  aid  to  the  de- 
velopment of  efficient  church-workers.  The  author  is  National 
istcretary  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Disciples  of  Christ  and  has 
enjoyed  an  unusual  opportunity  to  gather  facts  of  great 
interest  to  both  pastor  and  layman. 


By  R.  A.  TORREY,  D.D. 

UTEST  ISSUES 

Tfu  Person  and  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
As  Revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and  in  Peii> 
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Difficulties  and  Alleged  Errors  and  Contra- 
dictions in  the  Bible.  12mo,  Cloth,  net 
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Practical  and  Perplexing  Questions  An- 
swered.   12mo,  Cloth,  net  60. 

Anecdotes  and  Illustrations.  Illustrated, 
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FOR  REVIVAL  WORK 
How  to  BHng  Men  to  Christ.    Cloth,  76c.; 

Paper,  net  %hc. 
How  to  Work  for  Christ.    8vo,  Cloth,  |2.50, 
How  to  Promote  and  Conduct  a  Successful 

Revival.    New  Edition,  net  ^1.00. 

REVIVAL  TALKS  AND  ADDRESSES 
The  Bible  and  Its  Christ.    Cloth,  net  76c.; 

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Real  Salvation  and  Whole-Hearted Service. 

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FOR  BIBLE  STUDY 

What  the  Bible  Teaches.    8vo,  Cloth,  S3.60. 

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How  to  Study  the  Bible  for  Greatest  Profit. 

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A  Vest  Pocket  Companion  for  Christian 
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